Pyramids and snow covered mountains

Meanwhile, despite the continued federal government shutdown, we hear that the Governor of Utah has re-opened the National Parks in his state using state funds. We also heard that the Grand Canyon might reopen. The Grand Canyon is more than 4 hours driving from monument valley, and we don’t want to take the chance of the park not being open. So we head back into the Utah canyons and mesas of the Ancient Pueblos. There are some state parks through here where you can hike and camp and discover ancient pueblo villages and artifacts on your own, but we’re such novices to the area that we don’t venture too far off the road. 

Then we come upon a ridge - it looks like the road is going to take us straight up! It is steep, narrow, rocky, and definitely the diciest of the roads John has had to maneuver.

I am looking over to the right (no guard rails and a straight drop down) and can see the vast plain that is filled with naturally formed pyramids - but I don’t want to tell John because I don’t want him to take his eyes off the road. How amazing that what the Egyptians and Incas and Aztecs did with slave labor was formed here naturally. 

When we reach the top and turn the corner we can see that, abracadabra, we are in a whole new landscape.  We are on a higher plain.  (called the Colorado Plateau, I think) There is no other side to go down.

 What looks like clouds up ahead looks a little like it might be snow covered mountains.

Sure enough!