2024 Cross Country Trip: Day 8

Friday, August 16, 2024

We left Kanab, Utah and headed east. Our goal for the day was to hit Horseshoe Bend, Monument Valley, and Four Corner Monument. We headed down Route 89S and not too long after leaving, there were police ahead. They were making everyone move over to the shoulder, as far over as they could get. We were confused until the officer stopped to tell each motorist there was a wide load coming through. Well, a couple minutes later, there was. It was the largest wide load I’ve ever seen on a tractor trailer, and they were moving pretty good. They had a very well orchestrated making all motorists move over.

After that we continued until we reached Arizona and stopped to get photos of the sign. You could even see “Lone Rock” in Glen Canyon National Park from there. We went a few miles further and crossed the dam for Lake Powell in Page, Arizona. Another few miles down was Horseshoe Bend. We stopped there and this time we had to pay $5 each for parking. I don’t believe I had to back in 2017. From the parking lot it’s a 15 minute hike to get to the top of the canyon where you can see the bend in the river.

After stopping and taking some photos we headed back to get the bikes and headed to Monument Valley. A quick stop for fuel and water and we were back on the road there was another wide load too. This time it was a massive house boat or something and they went straight through the middle of the turnout.

We followed route 98E to route 160E, passing Antelope Canyon. When we hit route 160, we stopped for fuel knowing gas stations are further between. I ended up going inside for a slice of that delicious gas station pizza! Was not disappointed 😂. When we left, Eddie left his gloves on his motorcycle. About half mile down the road he realized he didn’t have his gloves on, so we turned back around and found one in the road. The other was stuck on his bike by the chain guard, living both gloves were unharmed. After that it was a little longer until he turned onto route 163 which goes through Monument Valley. It was so cool and unique to see!

My goal was to stop at Forrest Gump Point which is several miles north of Monument Valley. I just love the movie so much and quote it often so I had to check it out! I was quite surprised when we got there to see how popular it was. There were a bunch of people in the road taking photos. I was not expecting that.

After stopping and getting some photos we continued on for another couple hours. Right after Forrest Gump Point, we went through Mexican Hat, Utah. There’s a rock formation there that resembles a sombrero which is where the town got its name. We took route 162E from 163E and it was quite desolate and there were some very straight sections of road that last miles. There were also a decent amount of pumpjacks which are used to extract crude oil from the ground. I just think it’s cool to see them in action.

We arrived at the four corners where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona all meet. I was unaware, but this is ran by the Navajo Nation Parks & Rec. I thought it was just a site where the states meet, but I was wrong. It was a nice facility with Navajo vendors selling stuff. We also met some older gentlemen that were also riding motorcycles all around the country, so we chit-chatted with them for a bit.

We continued from there to Farmington, New Mexico where there was a hotel we had planned on reaching. Shortly after leaving the for corners, we stopped at Teec Nos Pos Trading Post just south of the Four Corners Monument. I went inside to get water and the nice older gentleman working there suggested going to Tequila’s Mexican Restaurant. So, after traveling down Route 64E, and stopping for several road work areas, we finally got into Farmington. We booked a hotel and headed to the restaurant. It was very good.