Leaving Moab, On to Gallup

October 7, 2018

Sadly today we had to say goodbye to Alex after spending two wonderful weeks with him.  It was a real treat to has so much time with him...a rarity for parents with adult children!

We woke up to rain, so we decided we'd save our farewell hugs for the car wash in Moab.  The drive out of the canyon was a little scary since the whole road was just sloppy mud, but we made it, and enjoyed all the waterfalls that we saw along the way.

Both are vehicles were covered in red mud, so our first stop was the car wash.  Alex did all the work on both our vehicle and his.

It was 8:45 AM by the time we were ready to part ways, we headed south to Gallup, New Mexico, and Alex was headed back to his home in Silverthorne, Colorado.

After just one hour on the road we stopped in Montecello, UT, for a delicious breakfast.  We had lunch at this same restaurant last year.  We love it then and we still love it.  Joni had plain old eggs and home fries, but I took a chance and tried the Spanish Benedict...good choice.

Shiprock on the Navaho reservation.  This formation is visible from 80 miles away on the plateau of Mesa Verde

Our drive to Gallup took us through the Ute reservation in Colorado and the Navaho reservation in New Mexico.  The poverty is depressing and reminds you how badly the Indians were treated by the Europeans/Americans who settled the West.

After 18 days of sleeping in the van and 7 days without a shower we decided to get a room at the Hilton Garden in Gallup.

Our first dinner along Route 66 was at the El Rancho, an old hotel and restaurant that's been around since the 30's and catered to many Hollywood stars who were in the area filming westerns.

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The lobby at El Rancho reminded us of the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone.