Dear Isaac, Maia, and Virtual Wanderers,

Today was a hoodoo day on our road trip journey through the Southwest. So, what is a hoodoo? According to Google “a hoodoo is a tall, thin rock spire with a variable thickness, often described as having a “totem pole-shaped body”.”

There were hoodoos along or close to our route all day. There are hoodoos near Bluff and Monument Valley. There are famous roadside hoodoos like Mexican Hat Rock. Most of the hoodoos were not on our to do list today, but the trip through red rock country was stunning just the same.

We started our day in Blanding and headed south on Highway 191 – AKA the Devils Highway. Some years, I take the long cut through Monument Valley, but today we did a straight shot to allow more time at Canyon de Chelly.

Our first stop was Twin Rocks restaurant in Bluff. We celebrated today as Kachina’s 10th gotcha day with a Bear’s Ears Scramble. If you search the blog, you will find that the Scramble is a long time favorite.

Then for the long and somewhat bumpy ride down Highway 191. It’s almost like being on another planet with red cliffs and rock formations. But, it’s planet earth and this is mostly breathtaking Navajo reservation.

It took about two hours to get to Canyon de Chelly. After a quick stop at the Visitor’s Center, we headed to Spider Rock. This is the furthest turnout on the South Rim and about 16 miles from the Visitor’s Center. It’s another few miles up to the parking area.

The walk from the parking area to the Spider Rock overlook is about 200 yards. It’s paved and dog friendly. And, guess what? Spider Rock is a hoodoo!  I love the rusted terra cotta color of Canyon de Chelly. The red sandstone is highlighted by green canyon floors below. I hand-painted a tile clock of Antelope Canyon a while back (you can see it here on Etsy) and it was amazing to watch the colors come to life.

We stopped at several other overlooks on the way back to Chinle. I purchased this kokopelli rock painting from one of the Navajo vendors. Next to the canyon itself, buying something from the vendors each year is a favorite.

My travel guardian gnomes got a little piece of the action today, as well. Shiprock Twinkle the roadtrip guardian is helping navigate while Dominguez Summit got to pose near Spider Rock.

Once we finished at Canyon de Chelly, we headed south to Chambers on Highway 191. The scenery changes from red rock to sage plains and it’s another 1.5 hours. But, you can subtract off an hour because non-reservation Arizona is on standard time year around. 

The truth is, I always feel like I’m rushed on my red rock country days because these are country miles. And, it’s a lot of country miles between dog friendly, affordable motels. Today was too long a drive in some ways but worth going the extra mile.

Tomorrow is a favorite dog friendly National Park, Petrified Forest. That means there are more hoodoos in our future!

Happy Trails, GM Cathy Hartt

Art from the Hartt — handcrafted on the Colorado Plateau, inspired by days exactly like this one.