25. Day - day 25 (for english scroll down

Zoë's Birthday! For me it started at 5am.... I tiptoed out of the room and drove to Saveway's which was already open! I bought everything that looked like a birthday. Balloons, teacup, lots of sweets, an Oreo Birthday cake, etc. I also wanted to buy Zoë an alcopop as she can drink something like that now (in Switzerland). But here in Arizona, you can't buy alcohol between 2 and 6 am... Back in the room, I decorated it as well as I could, put the card and the voucher (a Swisscom subscription) next to it, and lay down again. Her day started well. Then she talked to Joel, cried with joy about the beautiful video he had made for her, and I waited patiently downstairs in the garden... In peace, a rabbit and a lizard accompanied me in total satisfaction. At some point we went to Monument Valley. Once again, a fascinating landscape passed by us - and Zoë slept... At some point in the desert, we came across a gas station where we refueled and there was also a flea market - nothing else far and wide :-) What's nice about the Americans is that wherever possible, they don't walk, they don't do it either. That suits us two hiking grumps quite well. That's the case in Monument Valley too. There is a trail that you can drive on by car and see the whole reservoir, air-conditioned and without dust :-) You can also go on an open Jeep ride with the Navajo Indians, but that was damn expensive and the dust the people swallowed there was inhuman... Our little Nissan handled the dirt road great! After going all around once and making many photo stops at many rock formations with funny names, we went to the View Hotel to end the day with a drink on the terrace (of course without alcohol because we are between Utah and Arizona and there's nothing at all :-) Afterwards we made our adventurous way to the Hobbit houses where we were supposed to sleep. The directions said - keep going, don't stop!! OK - we already had an uneasy feeling and we also understood why: there were many deep sand sections on the way there. It's like driving on a lot of snow. The wheels suddenly lose their grip and you're 'swimming' through it, praying to reach the next solid section. Luck was on our side and we made it to the Fire Tree, the Hobbit-like houses where we were supposed to spend the night. They are houses that the Indians used to build. Our version was very elaborate with electrical connection, light and a refrigerator. We ate some more birthday cake and sat in a sun lounger, looking at the starry sky into the late evening. A beautiful birthday came to an end.

Zoë's Birthday! My day started at 5 am... I tiptoed out of the room and drove to Saveway's, which was already open! I bought everything that looked like a birthday. Balloons, teacup, lots of sweets, and an Oreo birthday cake, etc. I also wanted to buy an alcopop for Zoë, as in Switzerland she would be allowed to drink it now, but in Arizona there is this law where you can't buy alcohol between 2 and 6 am... Back in the room, I decorated it as well as I could, put a card and a Swisscom yearly subscription next to it, and crawled back to bed. Her day started well. Then she talked to Joel and cried buckets when she watched the beautiful video he made for her. Meanwhile, I waited patiently in the garden, with a rabbit and a lizard for company. Eventually, we started our journey to Monument Valley. Again, a beautiful landscape passed by us - and Zoë slept... In the middle of the desert, we stopped at a fuel station - where there was an Indian flea market! What we really appreciate about the Americans is: if they can avoid walking, they won't walk ;-) This is very much in line with our sense, as we are not hiking enthusiasts. So it was in Monument Valley. There is a lovely trail that you can drive through and see the full reservoir, air-conditioned and without any dust. There were Navajo Indians offering open roof Jeep tours, which were very expensive and the people had to swallow dust - though... Our small Nissan managed the gravel road marvelously. After a full round and many photo stops at rock formations with funny names, we went to the View Hotel to have a drink (no alcohol, as we are sandwiched between Utah and Arizona) on the terrace, and so ended our day's excursion. Later, we went to our Hobbit houses for the night. The directions said: NEVER stop! That made us feel queasy and worried, and soon we knew why. There were sandbanks on the gravel road, which felt like driving through deep snow. Soon the tires had no grip anymore and you floated through the patches. We prayed that our car would make it from one patch to the next, and our prayers were answered. We were lucky and made it to the Fire Tree, the Hobbit-like houses where we stayed overnight. These are houses that the Indians used to build in the past. Our version was a bit more elaborate, with electrical lights and a fridge! We ate the remaining birthday cake and looked at the stars from a sunbed until late at night. A nice birthday came to an end.