Day 11: Monument Valley and Horseshoe Bend

As there was no breakfast at the hotel at Grand Canyon today and I didn't go shopping yesterday, I had cookies with capsule coffee for breakfast today. So, I had covered all the important nutrients of humans and was ready for the day.

While showering, I noticed that I have seen all the different ways to operate a shower on this trip. There are showers with one lever, showers with two levers, showers with knobs to turn, showers with buttons to press and pull, showers with round levers that are also heads and have to be adjusted to a certain angle to prevent being burned or frozen alive in certain sunlight. I expect a shower with voice control later in the trip.

Today, the longest leg of the journey so far was planned with 550 kilometers. From the Grand Canyon to Monument Valley and then to the 'town' of Big Water.

The first section led me through an endless forest along the south rim of the Grand Canyon. From time to time, you could catch a glimpse of it through gaps in the trees and sometimes paths led to several viewpoints. I had to force myself not to stop all the time and I managed to do it with flying colors this time.

Okay, that was a lie, I did stop once.

At some point, the forest ended and suddenly there was a valley in front of me with canyons running through it. It's crazy how quickly and distinctly the landscapes can completely change here.

Now it was about 200 kilometers further towards Monument Valley.

I noticed that I have already written several times 'then it went there 200 km and then another 150 km'. What sounds so simple is a tremendously long distance through endless landscapes every time. The distances are a complete culture shock for a European like me. If you drive a distance of 500 km in Germany in one day, you have crossed half the country and passed through many of the most famous German cities. On my 550 km today, I passed through exactly 8 places, the largest of which had 7,500 inhabitants.

And even though there isn't as much blinking on such long straight stretches, that is exactly the topic today...

Driving in the USA *Intro*

In Germany, the turn signals are almost always yellowish, here in the USA that is rather the exception. Most of the time they are in the same red color as the reverse light. Sometimes the reverse light and the turn signal are even the same lamp. I found that very confusing at first and somewhat disappointing for American standards. In a country where cars can honk the American national anthem and the underbody lighting can be seen from 20 miles away at night, I had expected something more spectacular for the turn signals.

That was driving in the USA for today *Outro*

After a longer drive through the 'Painted Desert', which got its name because of its colorful rock formations, I finally reached Monument Valley. If the name doesn't mean anything to you, the pictures definitely will. It is probably the most famous Wild West scenery in film history. The director John Ford alone shot 10 western films here from the 1930s onwards (mostly starring John Wayne). The valley is traversed by several distinctive mesas. It is located on the border between the states of Arizona and Utah, so I entered the latter for the first time on this trip. It is also worth mentioning that Monument Valley is completely located within the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the USA (as large as Bavaria). Now finally, some pictures:

After buying another overpriced keychain at the visitor center, I went another 20 km into Utah to the so-called Forrest Gump Point. That's where Forrest Gump ended his long run across the USA because he got tired. Ironically, the speed limit there was reduced from 65 mph to 45 mph because constantly reckless tourists leaping onto the road in pursuit of the perfect photo.

This point was also the easternmost point of my trip and therefore the one closest to Germany. I turned around and drove back to Arizona to the city of Page. That's where my hotel for tonight was, or so I thought. It turned out that my actual hotel (which has the same name) is not in Page, Arizona, but in the town of Big Water, Utah, 20 km further away. So, I drove to Utah for the second time today and this time really reached my hotel, which is the smallest and most remote one so far. In addition, the room decorated with poker motifs and the view from the window are definitely the most unusual and the most American so far.

Then it was back to Arizona on the way back to the hotel for the third time. Today, I crossed the border between the states 5 times. Although Arizona and Utah are in the same time zone, Utah has daylight saving time, while Arizona does not. So, today I traveled in time 5 times, which officially qualifies me as a time traveler.

That's it for today, until tomorrow.

Leart