On Memorial Day (2002) weekend I set out Sunday morning to see some parks I had always wanted to see.  My goal was to see Canyonlands and then Monument Valley in Utah, and Mesa Verde in Colorado.  I first went to Moab and cruised through part of Canyonlands, then spent the night off of Kane Creek Rd. in Moab where I slept in my truck.  The weather was perfect.  I left the back doors of my truck open to hear the sounds and feel the breezes.  Not a single mosquito or bug flew by.  Next morning I headed south to Monument Valley, passing the La Sal Mountains and Mexican Hat (a town named after a rock shaped like a Mexican Hat).  On the way home I hit Mesa Verde in Colorado, which is home to some of the most extensive cliff dwellings in the world.  There I forked over the $2.25 for a tour and learned about the Pueblo people that inhabited the cliffs.  Finishing that I had dinner in Durango, and almost made it home in time for work Tuesday morning.  I was 10 minutes late for my 8:30am meeting. I drove 1200 miles in 48 hours.  I called it extreme sightseeing.

 

	Light from the rising sun against the rocks near Kane Creek. Right outside Moab.
	Rocks in Canyonlands.
	Silhouette in Canyonlands Nat'l Park.
	Setting sun.
	Colorado River flowing through Canyonlands.
	Heading south from Moab toward Monument Valley, I passed the La Sal Mountains with these clouds over them.
	The Mexican Hat rock.  Nearby is a town named Mexican Hat -- for the rock.
	The river behind the Mexican Hat rock. Mexican Hat River? Na
	Entering Monument Valley.  Notice the butte 1 inch from the left, that is the left mitten.  A formation I'm sure you've seen many times in pictures, but not from this angle.
	The left mitten, closer with other towers in the background.
	The mittens, left and right.
	The mittens, and another butte (pronounced byoot).  A 17 mile gravel road snakes through the formations.
	The north window.
	The three sisters.
	Towers.
	Towers and more towers.
	Native American jewelry stands.  I bought a dream catcher.