The last time we spoke, I had just left Vegas to begin an entirely new adventure on the open road, and my time travelling around could not be any more of a contrast to the craziness of Vegas if it tried. This leg of the journey saw us leaving Las Vegas and arriving in a small town called Kanab in Utah, before making our way to Marble Canyon and a town called Mexican Hat.
The open road
The open road in America is unlike any other driving experience I’ve had. The scenery extends into long, straight open roads, with only the odd occasional small town approaching, then fading into view. It was exhilarating to escape the city and be surrounded by fresh air and open spaces again, just like home. On the way to Kanab we passed through Colorado City, a Mormon town, which was just bizarre and totally different to any way of life I'd seen before. Large houses with large families working on the land, all similarly and plainly dressed. We also paid a visit to Pipe Springs National monument, to have a look at how natives and Mormons both lived off of the harsh landscape.
(Pipe Springs)
If I've learnt anything from being in America, it's that for a small town girl, I certainly hate small towns. Maybe it's because it's all so familiar, and with no disrespect to any of the small towns I visited, but good God I was bored. Perhaps in the context of our travels, coming from Vegas, anything else would be deemed as boring, but there were genuinely a few places where I either felt so isolated it was relaxing, or I lost my mind. Kanab was the latter, I was struck by how on a Sunday, a church day, there was really not that much open to do. All we could do on such a quiet day was escape the town, and go for a little adventure on some sand dunes. Now for someone who lives maybe a couple of hundred metres (if that) from a beach, good God I can't stand sand! It gets everywhere, and its just exhausting to walk up sand dunes.
(The amazing sand dunes)
The following day we visited Zion National Park in Utah. Zion is 229 sq. miles of land, and it's absolutely beautiful. There are many different meanings to the word ‘Zion’, but one of the most common is ‘dry place’, however, Zion National Park is more like an oasis in the desert. Being at Zion made me realise how much I really enjoy being surrounded by nature, but it also made me realise how much other people enjoy it too. One of the areas we visited seemed much more popular and accessible to visitors, and the walks were crammed with people. So much for being at one with nature, more like being with the masses in nature. This aside, Zion was an absolute highlight of my trip, and I would love to go back and push myself to do a more challenging hike (never thought I'd say that!!!), if anything for the breath-taking views.
(Me at the top of our first hike at Zion, what a view!)
Marble Canyon is in every sense the most isolated place I’ve ever stayed. Essentially, all we had was a place to eat, a place to sleep, and each other. There was no phone signal, no wifi. We were completely alone. I actually enjoyed the peace and quiet, it made a refreshing change from the intense week we had, and made me realise I genuinely do rely too much on my phone for communication, and that I'm missing so much of life because of it. Marble Canyon is the most remote place we visited during our travels, and we were told we doubled the population when we stayed; which seemed certainly true whilst dining in the local restaurant, when we accounted for nearly half of the customers. The sky was incredibly clear, with no light pollution. The stars looked so bright at night, brighter than I’ve seen them anywhere else in all my life. This lack of pollution from other humans makes it so much clearer that we were isolated from the world out there.
(Laying in the road near Marble Canyon because there was pretty much no traffic whatsoever)
After our first night in Marble Canyon, we took part in a challenging hike down Cathedral Wash to the Colorado River. It wasn't quite as harsh as the Red Rock hike, but it definitely involved a lot more teamwork and climbing. I daresay, this was one of the highlights of my life, let alone this trip. Once we finally got to the waters edge, it was the best view of my life. It was ethereal, and my mind has never been so much at peace (which is impressive, because my mind never usually shuts up!). Personally, I’ll always remember the hike as a metaphor for life. Although it may be a struggle and hard work getting there, you can be sure that there is always something beautiful at the end.
(Mid-hike with some of the girls)
(Poised on a rock with Rachel at the waters edge, deep in thought)
Leaving Marble Canyon, we began to make our way onwards, into the Navajo Nation. We experienced dinosaur footprints, which was fascinating as I have honestly never considered history in American beyond what I've been taught. Our guide told us about how people would just come along and take the fossils from the land, and he seemed fairly relaxed and casual towards this. This shocked me, as it seemed that they were just used to people coming along and taking away what rightfully belonged to them, which seemed wrong on every level to me.
(Dinosaur footprints!)
One of the ‘selling-points’ of this trip was a chance to see Monument Valley, and I have to admit I was hugely disappointed. Although it is an iconic symbol of the American West, I fear I’ve seen so much mountainous landscape on my travels that this failed to make any sort of impression on me at all. Because there was no tour or museum, I feel like I didn’t learn anything, and ultimately when we drove away, I was just as clueless about Monument Valley as when I’d arrived. Why is it such a symbolic place? What does it mean to the Navajo who live there? In contrast to my point, viewing Monument Valley the following day from a different angle was actually more impressive. Perhaps the weather helped, or maybe it was the iconic image I'm used to seeing in films such as Forrest Gump. I'm also totally impressed with this picture I took of Monument Valley, this is some postcard magic right here.
(Monument Valley looking lovely)
(Group photo at Monument Valley!)
San Jaun Inn creates a different kind of isolation to the one I’d experienced at Marble Canyon. There’s a much bigger divide in culture, with the local restaurant offering a Navajo section of the menu. One of the staples on the menu is fried bread, a food which is part of the diet and culture of many Navajo people. I can’t help but wonder why the Navajo would eat this, as it was introduced into their diets during the Long Walk and imprisonment. It’s like Jewish people eating the foods given to them in concentration camps. The cruel irony of this haunts me a little, as it’s just another horrible reminder of the reality of these people, and how they’ve come to be pushed onto reservations after all the hardships they’ve already endured in American history.
(Doing the sassy emoji sign near Mexican Hat)
The next morning we made our way back towards a town called Flagstaff, with only 3 days left of the trip! Believe it or not, we crammed a lot into the last few days, and experienced things which were totally different to how I'd expected them.
Much love ♥
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