The Traveling Idiots-Where The Tuck Are They Now?: Moab to Monument Valley

Yesterday we drove from Moab to Monument Valley. Before leaving Moab we made a couple of stops. First up was Walkers General Store. I'm a big fan of general stores and while this one didn't look from the outside like a typical general store (it was in a strip mall), it was quite a sight to see on the inside. Clothes, shoes, outdoor supplies, groceries, luggage, toys, souvenirs and a whole lot more. It was as if a Wal-Mart had been shrunk down to about one-tenth of it's size and nothing removed but the strange looking people that congregate at "Wally World". It was fun to roam around for a few minutes and pick up a few grocery items. I commented to the friendly lady at the check out counter how much I enjoyed the store. She smiled and delivered a well used line "if we don't have it, you don't need it". To drive home her point she then proudly added that Walker's is the only store around where you can buy both bananas and a gun!
We already had a few bananas in the car but we hadn't had lunch so we headed over to a place I had read about on TripAdvisor, "Milts Stop and Eat". If you know me personally or have been reading the blog for a while you know I'm a fan of the "cheap eats/hole in the wall" type of places. I become an even bigger fan if there is the possibility of a good burger. Milts is the classic "cheap eats/hole in the wall" that specializes in burgers. Milts pretty much has the whole burger thing down to a science, they've been doing it since 1954. It's worth a visit if you find yourself in the Moab area looking for an excellent burger. One word of caution, if you go with the double burger there is plenty to share. Also, the tater tots would bring a smile to Napoleon Dynamite's face. We didn't leave disappointed or hungry.
http://www.miltsstopandeat.com/
Like most of the drives on this adventure it wasn't very long, only 156 miles in length and very scenic. It was made a little more interesting by the weather. As we headed south towards the Utah/Arizona border we would occasionally run into snow showers. They were usually fairly light but occasionally we'd get into a heavier band. The roads remained clear so the fluffy white stuff that we don't get to see too often made the drive more enjoyable.
Along the way there were a couple of places of interest we had learned about at the Moab Visitors Center. The first was "Newspaper Rock". This rock was about 12 miles down the road on the way to the Canyonlands National Park Needles District. It was covered in petroglyphs some dating back over 2,000 years. It was interesting to learn that multiple cultures including Navajo, Ute and English Settlers had contributed over time. It was kind of like a graffiti wall for the ages.
Our second stop was in the town of Bluff (Population 320). For such a tiny town it had an excellent visitors center and pioneer village. The snowy, chilly day didn't do much for attendance. When we walked in the visitors center the couple working seemed extremely pleased to have someone else to talk to and we were treated like celebrities. There was an excellent 15 minute movie on how Bluff was settled by Mormon pioneers from Western Utah. Their journey was through unchartered areas and included a very challenging crossing of the Colorado River. It was supposed to take six weeks but ended up taking over six months and included spending the winter in covered wagons. Amazingly all the men, women and children who started the journey made it, and there were actually two babies born along the way. The pioneer village had some great displays that we enjoyed although the cold limited the amount of time we spent looking.
http://www.hirf.org/
Our destination, the View Hotel (which is not affiliated with the TV show of the same name that features a bunch of angry women) is located on Navajo land along the Utah/Arizona border in an area called Monument Valley. The rock formations (monuments) stand anywhere from 100 to over 1500 feet in height and are scattered throughout the close to 100,000 acres. The hotel is the only hotel within the Navajo Tribal Park and it is certainly appropriately named. From our balcony we were treated to a spectacular sunset followed by an amazing star show under a cloudless dark sky. This morning we enjoyed watching the sunrise.
There is a seventeen mile loop drive that winds through the park. This drive gives you the opportunity to view the formations up close as well as from different angles which makes for some nice photo opportunities. After the drive and a hearty lunch of Ramen Noodles (39 cents each at Walker's General Store), we did the 4 mile Wildcat Trail Hike around the West Mitten. This is the only hiking trail in the park. It's a great trail that offers some truly amazing views. Be warned, the last half mile or so is a little challenging. It is a fairly steady uphill grade through sandy soil. That plus the fact that we're still somewhat elevated (6,000 feet) warmed us up even though the temperature was hovering around 32 degrees.