We woke up early to get started on our longest day yet! We got coffee and bagel sandwiches from Durango Doughworks, a delightful local place near our hotel. Robert got a bagel sandwich on a rosemary asiago bagel, it looked so much better than my plain one!
Next, we started our drive on San Juan Parkway, which is also called the Million Dollar Highway. There is a debate about this highway, whether it cost $1M per mile to build in the 1960s or if they left a $1M per mile in gold behind in building it. Either way, it had million dollar views with steep drop-offs, windy curves, and plenty of road narrows signs (most of the time, we weren't sure how they could get more narrow). The drive is up and down the mountain so we got lots of different views from the valleys and peaks. We made a stop to get some fresh air at ** (since it has the cleanest air in the U.S.) and take a few pictures, when the snow began again so we got back in the car and proceeded on. We stopped halfway on the highway loop at the Box Canyon Falls. We hiked into the canyon to see the natural 250' waterfall. Then we took a quick hike around the rest of the property and finished the rest of the highway loop. I made some sandwiches from our cooler and we continued on our drive.
Next, we were off to the Four Corners Monument. We parked and got ready to take some pictures, however it turned out to be super windy so the pictures didn't turn out quite like we hoped. However we managed to get a repeat style from Europe with our feet and I tried a unique pose. We'll post those soon (hopefully tomorrow). We encountered a family with 6 kids trying to get organized for some photos which made for some good laughs as they were all sprawled out and trying to wander about.
Next, we cut back over to the famous Monument Valley. This is a famous drive shown in many movies. We saw all different types of terrain and unique natural landscapes, and some oil rigs. Well worth the drive!
After driving through the Valley, we were off to the Grand Canyon! We made it in last evening and got settled in our lodge room and started planning our day today. We ordered pizza in which made for a great low key evening!
Pictures to hopefully come tomorrow!
Sounds like a lot of driving and lots of sites. Love to hear about the local eateries. I suggest make up your own story about what the million dollar means and by the time Emma and Kyle are taking that trip or learning about it in high school your version could be just as believable. Have fun, send pics and be safe.
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