Adventures by Disney: Southwest – Day 5

On the Road Again – part 1

This is not the adventure for people who like to sleep in. Today the alarm went off very early as the bags had to be ready for pick up at 6:30 am  (shudder…). I am certainly not what you would call a morning person and to ensure I wasn’t the one who slept in, I had a wake up call, set the alarm next to the bed and asked for a wake up call. I am happy to report I made it on time. Shower… check – breakfast… check –  on the bus… check.

Ready for a 6 hour bus ride?  well…  I have to admit I wasn’t too excited at the thought but it was broken up into 2 sections of 3 hours with a stop in the middle. What really made it fun was everyone in the group had really started bonding and having fun, so the company of new friends helped make the time fly by. They did offer a movie on the bus as well, but the beauty of the surroundings made it tough to pay attention to the movie.

The rock formations were incredible. It reminded me of being a kid and looking at the clouds to figure out what shapes they were.  Below is a pic of the most famous owl on the blogs ad I have noticed that most bloggers who have been on the trip included pics of this friendly little guy.

At the halfway point we reached Monument Valley which has served as the backdrop for many Hollywood hits including:

• Stagecoach with John Wayne
• In 2001: A space Odyssey it served as the surface of an alien planet
• Back to the Future III – where Marty drives from 1955 to 1885
• National Lampoons Vacation – where the Griswolds station wagon falls apart
• Forrest Gump decides to stop his cross country running here
• Who could forget Mission Impossible II where Tom is perilously hanging on the side of a rock cliff

We stopped for lunch at Gouldings which is a historic Trading Post from the 1920s. It was Harry Goulding who brought Hollywood to the door stop of the valley which helped the local economy. There is a restaurant, shop and museum highlighting the influence the area has had on Hollywood and worth the $2 donation to step back into history.

After lunch we boarded our tour vehicles to take an off road tour of the area. Be prepared – it’s a dusty ride so be sure to bring a bandana or other covering if that is difficult for you. Also I suggest you don’t wear your favorite shirt especially if it’s a light color like white. You will find it dusted in a nice shade of red when you are done.  Lots of picture opportunities here!

On our second stop we came to a location where you can sit on a horse and get quite a photo op.

Notice Michelle on the edge again?

After the tour we returned to Gouldings for a chance to wash the thin layer of dust off our arms, faces, clothing, etc and it was back on the bus toward Moab!