Day 25 - 7th Cortez (Utah) to Flagstaff (Arizona)

Navajo Nation (day of many sights)

This would have to be most scenic days ridden in the US as I headed south towards Phoenix. It started out by heading north and then west back to the main highway as I could head towards 'Valley of the Gods' in Utah. This is a ride I had read about many years ago and I'm happy I was able to find it.

The road turned to gravel as it headed towards a vast drop into some desert flatlands, I should write down the names of these places more often. It's hard to believe they could build a road into the side of this drop off, must have had a dozen switchbacks.

Soon after switchback pass, there was a turn off to do a 20 mile loop around 'Valley of the Gods' I will let the pictures do the talking.

From there I headed towards Monument Valley and then the winds started to pick up again and it soon turned into a dust storm. I could deal with the head-on winds but once it started hitting me side on it made for some interesting riding. The bike would get blown across a full lane and my neck was starting to hurt trying to push against the wind.

I past a lot of Navajo stalls selling souvenirs, I guess it's one way to try and scratch a living. Sad to see how they have just been pushed out to desert country, guess it's not that dissimilar to Aus.

Last part of the day was the awesome sights of the Grand Canyon. I have hit a lot of parks and some haven't lived up to their reputation, but I have to say that the Grand Canyon is one truly amazing site.

From the Grand Canyon I had to make up some miles to try and get closer to Phoenix as my bike was booked in for a service at 10.00am and I was still six hours away. Finally made camp in Flagstaff about 3 hours out and had a chance to rest the eyes form one truly amazing day.

Cheers
Greg