Sunsets and Fry Bread in Tuba City and the Grand Canyon

After a full geek-out at the four corners monument we continued on our way through the lower portion of monument valley towards Tuba City. (Sadly, no giant tubas.) 

In Kayenta we checked out a Hogan, which we later saw on each of the Navajo homesteads. The kids learned that this was the traditional home center for teaching and gathering.

We originally planned on heading to Flagstaff first, but changed plans as the government shutdown was on its way. (I'm still behind on blog posts, obviously, from the slow start when we were in cell-free land and then adjusting to school on the road.) Anyway, it was late in the day and we found an RV spot, ominously named 'the end of the trail' park. 

It turned out to be a great stopping place, though, and we ended up staying there four days, using it as a base for exploring the surrounding areas. Plus, it was part of the hotel, so we could saunter in for morning coffee and the nightly fry bread. (We'd pop our buttons if we stayed here much longer, or weren't hiking everyday!)

The first morning we set out for the Grand Canyon, with the first stop at the Desert Viewpoint. It did not disappoint! As a side note, the Little Colorado Canyon along the way was quite a sight, too.

We also took a quick climb up the Watchtower but I was too eager to get going further to stop and learn anything about its history, and the interior art was certainly not authentic, so I don't feel too guilty about rushing through this one.

With just one day we opted for a long rim hike, rather than going into the crowded canyon (full of people like us getting in as much as we could before the park closed). We went to the end of the shuttle route and then hiked back in. This was a fun hike, as we had constant great views.

These are my daughter's artsy photos. 

I think the this one would be good to put up for Halloween!

While the canyon was just as beautiful as expected, I nearly lost my mind over the sunset on the drive back towards the reservation.

I always thought that living on the west coast, in a city on the bay, that we had cornered the market on beautiful sunsets. So wrong! These sunsets are probably what kept us staying in the area so long.

These photos are actually taken facing east. They are also just from my iPhone, with no filters, so I imagine a proper camera would capture it better.