Whirlwind Desert Southwest

Aaron slept peacefully, at a fairly normal temperature, through the night, snoozing all the way until 9am. Happily, he reported that he was feeling better and we headed on our way to Albuquerque where we checked into an old-hospital-turned-boutique-hotel for the night before heading out on a quest for the best New Mexican food in town, landing ourselves in a little diner a couple miles away that the locals boasted had the best green chiles in town. At this point in the trip I was utterly exhausted and the following morning all I wanted do was, literally, lay in bed. All day. But it looked like the weather was turning in a day or two so we opted to head to Canyon de Chelly before the cold set in, but only after we stopped for another green-chileful lunch. Canyon de Chelly is a gorgeous canyon located on the Navajo reservation where dogs, horses, and cows run free. Most of it is off-limits to outsiders since Navajo Diné still live in traditional hogans on the canyon floor, farming and raising livestock. While we were there we hiked down to the canyon floor to see the pueblo cliff-dwelling White House. Given that was all we could do without a guide, we set off again and headed through the high winds and shifting weather to Moab. We skirted the edge of Monument Valley but weren't able to see much due to the clouds of blowing sand. Unfortunately, between the call of home, the lack of bikes, a hike-excitable Aaron who really needed rest, and the weather being officially cold when we reached Moab, our stay was much shorter than anticipated. During the two and half days we were there, we hiked around Slick Rock, stuffed ourselves silly with, perhaps the yummiest sushi we have ever had (I know it sounds crazy given that it is Moab), and hiked to Delicate Arch.


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