20 June 2024 – Trip Day 81
We did a little something different yesterday. Meagan and the kids went back down to Chaco Culture National Monument to see a solstice performance by some Native American tribes while I took the RV onward to Monument Valley, UT, our next stop. At least that was the plan anyway.
Meagan and the kids got out early and on time to make it down there, but then they ran into a bit of a road block, literally.
These jokers were upset about oil – about the fact that they were not allowed to drill by New Mexico. So they decided to block the road to the National Monument and the cultural activity was the way to go. Personally, I have a strong allergic reaction to people who block roads, for whatever reason. So, I’d be happy to see them never get their desire.
Changing directions, Meagan and the kids headed out toward Monument Valley as well. She took a different route than I did, and stopped by Bluff Fort.
The kids got rocks and were making petroglyphs.
Meanwhile, I was having fun dodging cyclists and thunderstorms on the road.
You can see Shiprock off to the left of the road between the power lines.
I spent most of the drive driving into and around the storms. The winds were very strong. I had a head wind for most of the drive that slowed me down a bit and the truck was working hard to compensate for with the hills without overheating.
I came up on this guy riding his bike on the road. Daring soul, on a two lane road.
I arrived without incident at the campground, a short time ahead of the storm. The campground is nestled in a valley surrounded by towering sandstone bluffs.
I got the rig set up in our spot and was finishing up the connections when the rain drops began to fall.
Soon, there was a torrent flowing by.
I grabbed Ducky out from the truck and rushed him into the RV. I finished setting up the insides while the rain and wind battered the RV.
Meanwhile, at Bluff Fort, they also got hit by the storm and one of their trees was blown over.
Meagan drove by Mexican Hat rock on the way to the RV park.
Later at night, we were hit again by another batch of storms. We heard some rubbing noise, sometimes sounding like a baby cry. Only the baby wasn’t crying. I went out in the storm to investigate. Apparently I had parked too close to one of the branches, shown in the above photo. It wasn’t that it was hitting the RV, but it was above the bedroom slide out and when the when blew strongly, it would move the branch and rub on the top of the slide. Not much to do near midnight, so I adjusted the RV tilt so the back end was down away from the branch as best I could get it. I moved the rig to a different spot in the site away from the branch the next morning.
Of course, we got hit by one of the strongest parts of the storm (yellow blob) that night.