Utah & Arizona, Part 1
As we headed out of the city and into nature in our rented Mustang (*Nissan), the road trip had officially began! I’d had Thelma & Louise daydreams of us coasting down the freeway with red bandanas around our necks, but in reality, we crawled out of Denver, sweaty handed, driving on the wrong side of the road and sat on the wrong side of the car. With Joey in the driving seat and me as passenger, DJ and occasional napper, we set off on the 6 hour drive to Moab, only briefly stopping in Glenwood Springs for a sandwich and leg stretch.
After a day on the road with my road trip playlist on repeat, we finally arrived at Field Station, a motel located at the top end of Moab, Utah. I know by the word ‘motel’ you’re picturing neon flickering lights, cockroach infested rooms and rusty outside ice boxes, but i’m going to stop you right there. The team behind Field Station renovate and bring back to life old motels and road side lodges that need some love and attention. This place is designed with one thing in mind, the great outdoors. The rooms are spacious, have storage for bikes and hiking gear and you can even find a selection of books at the head of your bed based around national parks, hikes and exploration. Outside of the room there’s a gift shop selling everything you’ll need to take on the nearby National Parks, a small cafe with eat in or take away drinks and food (which work perfectly for taking on hikes or for snacking on after returning), a pool and even a campfire to sit around of an evening. Post check in, we got talking to employee and all round adventure expert Kai, with the voice of Jackass’ Steve-O and contagious energy I couldn’t help but envy. His enthusiasm radiated as he reeled off recommendation after recommendation in Moab. He insisted we couldn’t go to bed without seeing the nearby Dead Horse Point at sunset. So with that, we got back in the car and drove 30 minutes out to his suggested viewpoint, and my Lordy am I glad we listened. It's a challenge for me, an amateur at putting words down, to describe this vast canyon land doused in the orangey, purple hew of the setting sun. Equally, a camera could never do it justice either but i’ll try and let my photos paint a good enough picture. We got lucky with the crowds being fairly quiet so it wasn’t hard to secure a spot on the canyon edge to take in the breathtaking views. Little fact - this is the spot they filmed the famous last scene of Thelma & Louise where they drive off the canyon edge to escape the police. If that was a spoiler, then shame on you for not watching it sooner.
The next morning we woke bright and early, cycling shorts on and Field Stations homemade granola in my backpack. Joey went outside for his morning cig and returned with some spectacular news. At some point between leaving Dead Horse Point and arriving back at the motel (with a cheeky Mcdonald’s diversion) a big old screw had inserted itself nicely into one of our rear tyres. With it being the second day of our journey, we felt the road trip gods were truly against us. As our pre booked time slot to enter Arches National Park was between the hours of 7 and 8am, we decided to get in the car and hope for the best. Luckily the park is just a seven minute drive from Field Station. Arches National Park has something for everyone and every fitness level, from beginner to advanced hikes. With our dodgy tyre in the back of our minds, we decided to tackle one hike only before heading back to the motel to get it sorted. We set off on the famous 2-3 hour (waaa) Delicate Arch hike feeling brave. I quickly turned into a female Karl Pilkington and moaned my way throughout the trek, being overtaken by the elderly on multiple occasions. We eventually reached the end of trail and were greeted with the famous arch you’ll probably recognise from Utahs number plates. I must say, the end result was worth the deathly hike to get there and the views were perfect to inhale our packed breakfast, let my lungs recoup and watch influencers hold up the popular photo spot with a ten minute shoot. After the more bearable hike back to the car, we decided to call it a day and drive back into Moab to sort our slowly deflating tyre. Thinking they’d already gotten rid of us after we’d checked out that morning, we pulled back into Field Station pleading for help. After a google, it turns out all garages close in the mormon state on weekends. The incredibly helpful staff then went on to ring around and managed to hunt down a mobile mechanic who could put a temporary plug in our tyre. We thanked them an awkward amount of times and then soon after, a knight in shining armour (a pensioner in a tow truck) pulled in and plugged our tyre. $100 down with a screw for a souvenir, we sceptically hit the road once again and headed for our next stop.
6 hours of nervously flitting between 20 and 30mph, we eventually arrived at Gouldings Lodge. As a word of advice, the accommodation around Monument Valley is few and far between, so try to book far in advance. My first choice would have been The View, but as it was fully booked, we went with option B. Gouldings Lodge is split into two sections. The main section is where you’ll find the reception, restaurant, gift shop and ‘apartment rooms’. We opted for the one bed villa/suite (two name variations depending which site you book on), a two minute drive around the corner. The villas are basically a collection of small bungalows laid out in a way that reminded me of a residential park for the elderly. Inside, the decor is dated but fine for a one night stop over. On that note, I wouldn’t recommend any more than one night here as there is nothing to do in the area apart from explore Monument Valley, so you may get a tad bored if you were here any longer. After we scoped out the room, finding a box of Eggos in the freezer (eleven, dat you?), we wandered and found an onsite supermarket. I finally got my mitts on a case of La Croix, something my branding driven mind had been eyeing up on instagram for a while. We mooched around the gift shop and inevitably ended up at the restaurant to order a takeaway burrito bowl to eat on our porch, in our pjs - heaven!
Monument Valley
Monument Valley - John Waynes backdrop, the point where Forrest Gump decides to turn around & head home and probably one of the most photographed places on earth. One small worry - was doing a self driven tour with a plugged tyre on rocky, rough terrain tempting fate? Maybe. So with that we paid our $8 per person entry fee and set off down the dirt track to risk it all for once in a lifetime scenes. You’re provided with a map upon entry showing you all the stop off points along the way which made it easy for us to pick and choose where we wanted to pull over. Rather than taking you every step of the way, i thought i’d list our highlights and things you should know.
- Get there early or later in the day! The scenic drive opens at 6am during the summer months. We arrived around 7.30 and it was perfect with only a few other groups there at the same time.
- Monument Valley is owned by the Navajo and is located within Navajo territory, therefore you won’t be able to use the National Park Pass to enter - more info on this in my next blog!
- I don’t recommend doing the self driven tour if you have a low car. The roads are basically dirt tracks and are very bumpy. Option B would be to take a guided tour with one of the many operators you can find online.
- Monument Valley at sunset looks incredible. With the sun setting between the mittens and buttes (the big rocks), you’ll be sure to get some smashing images. Sadly, this option didn’t fit with our packed schedule, so we went for the morning instead.
- My favourite points in the park for great shots were John Fords Point Overlook and North Window Overlook.
- Pull over just before John Fords Point to see the horses in their paddock. We got extra lucky and were greeted by two excitable puppies playing in the sand.
- Be prepared - Forrest Gump Point (the stretch of road he runs up in the film) is not in Monument Valley. We were about ten minutes from Gouldings Lodge the day before when I practically grabbed the wheel from joes mitts and veered into a lay-by upon realising what legendary road we were driving down. So let this be your warning. You don’t want to miss this photo op.
To be continued…
