We left the Grand Canyon going east to go through Monument Valley. After you get out of the canyon, the road gets crazy, long and straight, through red dirt and rock. The road is surrounded by these amazing plaeaus.

We then drove one of the craziest roads of my life. We were on route 261 in Utah. At one point, the road turned to gravel and went straight up a mesa using a series of switchbacks. The turns were tight and drop was severe—lots of fun. The photo below doesn’t really do it justice, but shows the view from the top.

After that hair-raising road, we hit Natural Bridges National Monument. This is a tiny park with three big attractions—big natural bridges, some of the largest in the world. Geology lession: bridges are distinct from Arches, the former are formed by erosion from flowing water, the latter by seeping water.

We drove the nine mile (14 km) loop, but skipped the hikes. Fortunately, there were viewpoints for the three bridges. A nice one hour excursion.

We then drove about 60 miles through a desolate landscape. No towns, no gas stations, nothing. It was at this point that we realized that it would be a good idea to plan our refueling stops. It was blind luck that we had enough gas to get to Lake Powell.