Last summer we went out west and I had planned to visit Monument Valley on the way from Page to Bluff. Unfortunately on a raft ride below Glen Canyon Dam we got caught in a thunderstorm. It was very frightening and out guide refused to turn around. The temperature plummeted from sunny and hi 80's to low 60's and we were all drenched and shivering (not to mention shared to death by the lightening) by the time we got to the bus that took us thru the tunnel and back to our cars. It was such a temperature drop the bus driver had the heater on. Anyway, I got a really bad sore throat/sinus infection/fever by the time we made thge drive to Bluff. We missed the turn off to Monument Valley and didn't realize it until we got to Mexican Hat (named for a rock formation). I felt much too sick to care so we just skipped it and went to the little house we rented.
We skipped seeing Mesa Verde the next day, too.
Wishing you all healthy vacations whenever you go away.
Getting sick on vacation is never fun. I've been to Europe 3 times - twice, I had bronchitis. The last time, I had just gotten over it, only to have it come back the day after I arrived. Fortunately, I was able to get cough syrup with codeine over the counter for very little money.
ghoulsniteout
May 27, 2015
Oh, Pixi, that does sound scary and I'm sorry it had made for a less than stellar vacation.
JoyceRogers
May 27, 2015
Pixi, I've been rafting in that same area a couple times with youth groups. You can never tell what the weather will be like! One of our trips was in August and started out really hot. By the end of the trip it was snowing on us! In order to warm up our hands we had to stick them down into the water which was warmer than the air was! Unfortunately, it's impossible to turn around a raft and go upstream...the safest thing to do is find a place to pull off the river (not an easy thing to find in mountain canyons) and wait out the thunderstorm. So sorry you got so sick. When you feel that way it's hard to get excited about sight-seeing anywhere. I wish you had been able to see Mesa Verde - it's magical! I have never gotten to see all the beautiful places in Utah. I'd love to, but now mobility is a huge problem, so I'll have to enjoy it in pictures. Blessings to you!
animalvr143
May 27, 2015
Both Monument Valley and Mesa Verde are very beautiful. I am so sorry you had such a bad experience. If you are ever in the area again, you should try to stop there. I hope all further vacations are much more pleasant. You can't change the weather but the tour guide should have been much more accomodating.
pixipixil
May 27, 2015
He was a real cowboy. He wanted us to see how the cliff crevaces became watrerfalls in the rain. The whole agency swore the lightening never got down into the canyon but I'd swear a bolt landed on the water not more than 20 feet away and what a loud crack it made! The rain poured so hard that it ran down my legs right into my hiking boots and got inside my hooded raincoat.
pixipixil
May 27, 2015
HI Joyce: The raft was motorized and the tour was round trip on calm water with a stop off for pit stops, a swim for those wanting to do so and a look at petrogluphs. It tarted at the bollom of the dam and went as far as Horseshoe Bend. It would have been really great if not for the storm.
Sinde my brother is now living in Phoenix we will probably go back soon but not this summer.
pixipixil
May 27, 2015
Sorry for the typos: petroglyphs; started;Since.
JoyceRogers
May 28, 2015
I must have rafted in a different place...there was NO calm water there! I think I got a few names of places mixed up...Glenwood Springs, Brown's Canyon, old age memory, etc.! Glen Canyon sounds like a beautiful place, and a motorized raft trip sounds like a lot gentler than the one I was referring to! What state is this located in?
pixipixil
May 28, 2015
Arizona. I had to look at my itinerary because Lake Powell is near the Utah border and the Glen Canyon Dam is just below Page AZ. We headed south on the Colorado River. The company actually advertises it's raft trips are on gentle waters.
elijah13
Nov 22, 2016
Went to Mesa Verde to tour it. Glad I did it a few years ago. Wouldn't attempt it now.
pixipixil
Nov 23, 2016
Is it difficult to tour or did something happen to you, elijah? I would like to get back to that area in the next few years and try again, but I am 70 and can't handle anything too strenuous.
animalvr143
Nov 23, 2016
I have been there many times. It is a nice drive and not to strenuous if you don't take hikes. Lots to see just from the car or on pull-outs. Beautiful place,
elijah13
Nov 23, 2016
There is a lot of walking--mostly ramps. Going down was fine, but coming back up I had to stop a few times. I was about your age when I did it. I just turned 80 last Saturday and really don't care to travel too much. However, when I retired--at 58- did lots of traveling--US and other countries, including Antartica--wonderful! Also spent 2 weeks in Sweden with my sister finding out about our ancestry. Now I am slowing down. Do some travel, but not much!
pixipixil
Nov 24, 2016
I'm glad you got a chance to see plenty before you slowed down and that it's just a question of aging and not some awful accident or disease, elijah. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
pixipixil
Nov 24, 2016
Animalvrt--thanks for the info. WE are big on going places that have plenty to see just from the car pull-offs.
elijah13
Nov 24, 2016
That's the way I do it most of the time now. Glad I did my trips when I could really enjoy them.
Have been to Utah. Went rafting and Whitewater rafting in the Grand Tetons National Park. A man accidently fell into the river and the guide and to pull him in. Never been to Monument Valley.
We watched the sunrise in Monument Valley on a trip to the Four Corners. It was breath taking. Perhaps the loveliest sight I've ever seen. This area has so many beautiful places to see, Canyonlands, Arches, Mesa Verde, Shiprock, Durango. Santa Fe, Taos and many others. So different from the Pacific Northwest where we live.
Last summer we made it to Sedona, Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon; Zion (WOW);Arches. As stated earlier I had to skip Monument Valley and Mesa Verde which I had planned to visit but we both loved our stay in Bluff. Although I was sick, I was able to sit in the yard of the house we rented (cheaply) and do a pastel of the cliffs while I let the sun bake away my "cold." I felt so at home there.
seaview
May 31, 2015
Jetma what state are you in? I am in the Pacific Northwest also in Washington state, on the hot dry eastern side of the state.
We skipped seeing Mesa Verde the next day, too.
Wishing you all healthy vacations whenever you go away.
Sinde my brother is now living in Phoenix we will probably go back soon but not this summer.