Saturday 24 April 2010

I was on my way to Bluff, Utah by 0600. I got coffee in Prescott Valley and ate a granola bar as I drove east on highway 69 to Dewey. I took 169 from Dewey to I 17 then north toward Flagstaff. I stopped a couple of times to photograph views of Mt Agassiz. I bought gasoline in Flagstaff, and bought a Navajo taco in Kayenta. I took a few photos from the road in Monument Valley and one of the bridge in Mexican Hat.

I got into Bluff, Utah about 1600 Mountain Daylight Time. I found Far Out Expeditions at the east end of town. I didn’t see anyone around, so I called Bob Helmes on my cell phone. He told me to look behind the house. I found Bob and several friends drinking beer in the back yard. Bob introduced me to Vaughn, Marsha, Desa, Holly, and Jeff. Vaughn and Marsha own Far Out Expeditions, and live next door to the office. Desa, their daughter, is working on an archaeological dig. Jeff is a kayaker, rafter, whitewater outfitter, former owner of a kayak manufacturing company, building contractor, and was with Walt Blackadar, the famous kayaker, when he died. We went to dinner at 1800, and Bob and I headed to our campsite at 1930.

To protect the archaeological resources of this outdoor museum I won’t say exactly where we went. We slept under the stars on top of a mesa. The moon was almost full so we saw few stars, but I could make out a few stars of the winter circle in the west. Before sunrise, the summer triangle was near the zenith.

You can see more photos of this trip at Picasa.