A pretty, good, okay day!

In the beginning, there was darkness ... and cold. Cups of good coffee in china cups from the lobby helped to dispel that!

Then we were off to the races. Balloonists launch from all over Bluff, so we went over to the Twin Rocks Café and Trading Post (where more coffee was available), where we figured there would be a great backdrop for inflating and launching. We found Elaine and Jeff at the west end of the parking lot with their Dreamcatcher balloon (shown partially inflated above) and decided to help them crew. They had been at the Mancos Balloon Festival in September.

The Bluff baloonists get great views, but don't travel as far as those in Mancos do, maybe because there's not the network of roads to facilitate retrieval ... who wants to land three miles up a boulder-strewn canyon that's off-limits to vehicles? Anyway, "our" balloon came down near the cemetery, maybe a mile from where it went up.

Anyway, we helped them take it down and pack up, went back to the room and downloaded our pics and recharged our batteries to be ready for the afternoon. We went west from Bluff to the Sand Island petroglyph panel, then briefly joined the balloonists, who were tail-gating at the group picnic area there. 

Onward to the Goosenecks of the San Juan and the Moki Dugway to the top (edge) of Cedar Mesa. You can see at least half of the Four Corners region from that overlook. 

Onward to Monument Valley through Mexican Hat (half closed up for winter). It's been a dozen years since I've been to Monument Valley; they now charge an entrance fee to the tribal park, rather than just requiring you to hire a guide to go down into the valley. We sure got our $10 bucks worth! The 17-mile loop road is jarring, but it was gorgeous in the late afternoon. There is a vastness in that area that just overwhelms you and stills your breathing, envelops you. There were a few other visitors, more as we got closer to sunset, but it was relatively dust- and traffic-free.

Onward to Kayenta ... to get gas! Then quickly back to Bluff, an hour-and-a-half through the gathering shadows of the Navajo night. The balloon glow was almost done when we arrived, so we went to the Twin Rocks Café and shared a Navajo taco (on fry bread instead of pizza crust), had a small sundae afterwards (I had cinnamon ice cream ... wonderful!) and went back to the room to download and relax. After a day like that, the sixties part of being teenagers in our sixties was beginning to catch up! tv