In over Palmdale, out over Palm Springs on one of those rare days without blue skies.
Visiting old friends is good. I didn’t know a soul in Parker and decided to spend a day beside the river.
Blue River Casino was busy, but not expensive…
and I had a room with a view.
After a short hop and a couple days in Phoenix and I said my last goodbyes.
Teterboro on a Monday morning doesn’t hold a candle to Deer Valley
but, finally, I was on my way to one of the most beautiful and remote parts of the country…northern Arizona and eastern Utah.
On the way I passed the intriguing plateaus south of Camp Verde...
like aircraft carriers on a sea of mountains…
the distinctive colors and shapes that are Sedona…
and the moonscape of Sunset Crater northeast of Flagstaff.
Then the landscape got interesting…
passing Wupatki National Monument…
and entering the Painted Desert.
Running up along the Navajo Trail El Capitan was visible in the distance. I’ve covered all this ground on two wheelers and it’s hard to describe the epiphany when the elevated perch of aviation weaves it all together.
Navajo Mountain and the incongruous blue of Lake Powell appeared…
then No Man’s Mesa…
and Monitor Butte…
as I crossed the San Juan River and dropped into Cal Black Memorial for fuel.
Just a splash for insurance… for even though 66V (Bluff International…my RON) is only 50 mi. away…
Goosenecks State Park…
and Monument Valley still beckon.
Really though, after almost too much eye candy for one day and better than 4 hours in the air and I was done.
So, it’s back past Mexican Hat…
and the San Juan Inn, tucked away in the elbow of US-163 where it crosses the river..
and I’m down for the night…
in Bluff, UT.
