Great Western RV National Parks Tour - Day 9 - Grand Canyon, AZ to Moab, UT via Natural Bridges National Monument, UT

 Day 9:

I didn't mention this before but Arizona does not observe daylight savings time - they stay on Mountain Standard Time year-round - so we gained an hour when we entered Grand Canyon National Park.  Because of that, we got up extra early this morning to start driving because we would be losing an hour as soon as we left GCNP and reentered Navajo Nation (they DO observe DST - confusing, I know).  We were on the road by 5:30am and got to Kayenta, AZ around 10, and after filling up with gas, fired up the generator to make breakfast.  Once fed, we went north through Monument Valley, where many movie clips have been filmed, from The Searchers to Easy Rider, Thelma and Louise, and Back to the Future III.  The rock formations rise like giants out of the desert and are stunning to look at!  Once we made it to Mexican Hat (yes, there's a rock formation that looks like a man in a sombrero) we turned onto route 261 because that's what Google told us to do.  We were unaware that there was a 3 mile section of gravel road that climbs up and over the Moki Dugway to the top of Cedar Mesa.  The sign at the bottom said "not recommended" for RVs, tractor trailers, and towed trailers, but since it didn't say "prohibited" we decided to go for it.  It was a crazy switchback road but Margo was having the time of her life driving it!  Mom just moaned in terror from the dining table behind us.  Luckily there was no other traffic behind us or in front of us and we made it to the top with no problems except trying to not look over the edge to where we had come from!  From there it was much tamer roads to Natural Bridges National Monument, designated as such in 1908 by Teddy Roosevelt, making it Utah's first entry into the National Park system.  There are three natural bridges formed by water erosion, the Sipapu, the Kachina, and the Owachomo.  Natural bridges differ from arches (which we will get to in the coming days when we visit Arches NP) in that they have formed from a stream running under them, whereas arches do not and are formed more from frost action and moisture seepage.  These bridges range in height from 106-220 feet and in span from 180-268 feet - very impressive!  Also at this site is a well preserved Puebloan ruin, the remains of structures built by the peoples who occupied the area between 9000-700 years ago.  After we finished exploring, we hit the road again to Moab, where it is 108 degrees with 7% humidity.  95 degrees seemed tolerable to me, but when I hopped out of the RV to get us checked in, the heat was just oppressive.  As LaVerne always says, "It's hot, damn hot!"  Tomorrow morning we will pick up our rental car and head into Canyonlands National Park and take plenty of cold water with us!