Chinle - Monument Valley - Bluff

After breakfast, we set off towards Kajenta and Monument Valley. We rode mile after mile over a high plain surrounded by table mountains with steep red or black cliffs. The monotonous prairie was broken up by small groups of wild horses or cattle, and occasionally a small ranch. Despite all the bleakness, it was a great route.

Arriving in Kajenta, we first fortified ourselves at a Burger King, which also housed a small museum. The history of the Navajo - Talkers in World War II. Very interesting.... As the Americans did not have their own secret code/language, they simply took the Navajo Indians and used their unintelligible language for communication.

A few miles behind Kajaenta, we were greeted by the first bizarre and completely isolated rock formations in the prairie, showing us that we were not far from Monument Valley.

Once there, the sight of the gigantic rocks with names like - Three Sisters -, - John Wayne's Boot -, - Sleeping Giant -, - Elephant -, or - Camel - will take your breath away. The landscape somehow seems familiar, as everyone has seen a western movie or a Marlboro advertisement where these mountains served as a backdrop.

Sometimes we don't even know in which state we are, Arizona or Utah, as the two states plus Colorado and New Mexico meet here.... but more on that tomorrow.

The 40-degree afternoon heat has reached us again, and combined with the altitude above sea level (we have been at elevations between 1500 and 2000 meters for days), it is draining our energy. That's when the after-work beer tastes particularly good.

Arriving in Bluff, we checked into a wonderful hotel with a motel character, the Desert Rose in Bluff, Utah. It is the most beautiful accommodation so far, which also comes closest to our European expectations, with no plastic but glass and cutlery, and a kitchen that can be described as excellent.

Conclusion of the day: How a glass or porcelain cup can delight......