I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the restaurant to let everyone have a sleep in. And also because I got to enjoy a hot breakfast with a gorgeous view. I left my phone at the cabin taking a time lapse video of the sunrise behind the mittens.
Everyone was up and moving when I returned. The kids ate breakfast with the blinds closed to the view, which is funny. We were booked at 11am for a tour of the park. Prior to that we enjoyed the view from our amazing cabin and took a thousand photos.
We climbed aboard our open+back vehicle and strapped (belted) in. The road down was fun, though bumpy and bendy and at one point the car key fell out of Kieran's pocket and onto the ground. After we stopped at our first photo spot (the left and right mitten) Kieran went back up with the guide and grabbed it.
The tour went for about 3 hours and took us to a number of formations. Some, such as the elephant, three sisters and the Snoopy one are in the publically accessible area.
Snoopy
From here we went into the guide-only area and got to visit in a hogan, which is the traditional housing for the Navajo people in the area. The photo below is from the start of the tour and shows a male hogan (used for ceremonies), a womens hogan (the living area), and then a sweat lodge. The sweat lodge is used for cleansing, such as when a person returns from serving in the military they cleanse before returning to the community. They are made from wood and covered in mud that bakes hard in the sun.
We were told to only walk clockwise in the hogan, as this is part of the culture. Everything moves forward, clockwise, even the patterns on fingertips. There was a lady inside doing some demonstrations. It was really great. I didn't stay the whole time because we didn't bring cash and couldn't tip. She explained about how every shape in their art is imperfect and enclosed shapes include a gateway. Inside the hogan there is a hole in the roof that remains open regardless of weather for purposes of light and ventilation. The first just always face east and as such, sun only hits one side of the hogan.
We went to a really interesting formation called big hogan, for obvious reasons. While we were there another type arrived and the guide performed a traditional song, which was great with the natural acoustics. The big kids enjoyed being able to run around and Charlie charmed everyone, deciding to hold hands with our guide on the wall back to the vehicle.
We stopped at a couple more places for photos and I jumped out to take photos of some petroglyphs which were amazing.
After this we saw the totem pole then zoomed back to the start. Poor Charlie was completely tuckered out and feel asleep during the very bumpy trip back. After a short stop in the visitor centre and a comfort break for the kids we said a fond farewell to the park. Veggie leaving we circled back to pay our park entrance fee (the gate was empty when we came through because we arrived so late). The fees go to the Navajo nation, which i different to our National Park pass.
As we left we passed blank mustangs grazing Infront of the buttes. What a way to end our visit.
Once out of the park we were headed to four corners national monument via Mexican Hat and the Forest Gump Hill. The kids were not interested in either, but I thought they were neat.
Kieran had been keen to visit four corners for a long while and we got there about 30 minutes before closing time, which bizarrely was 4.45pm. Entrance was by payment to the Navajo nation and the area with the monument is quite cute. There is a sign saying a maximum of three photos per person, but because we were there so late we just about had the monument to ourselves and a handful of other. The kids had a blast running around and we enjoyed the photo ops.
We ended the night at Cortez much earlier than planned. We were staying at a place called retro inn and it was very good. The rooms were numbered in the 1990s, which was a cute touch and ours were 1979.
Fortuitously, the hotel had a guest house area with a TV, pool table and - most relevant to us at this junction - a washing machine and dryer. I changed $20 into quarters, bought powder from the front desk and settled in for a long night.
At the start I had the big kids and we played chess and pool while waiting. Charlie and Kieran hit the shops and brought dinner. I laundered under midnight while Kieran rearranged bags. Phew. Loving every day of this, but looking forward to home comforts.
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