Miles travelled: 5458 to 5645 (total of 187 miles)
Weather: clear and sunny
Highlight of the day: Grand Canyon, Watch Tower, and arriving at Monument Valley for sunset
    
We woke up rather later than usual – maybe as late as 8am! – and had cappuccinos and bagels from the coffee shop – and Disa had a bit of wedding cake, sadly probably making only a total of ¼ of the cake consumed! We loaded the van and checked out at 11am. Only having a small eski, we gave the rest of our wedding cake to the reception staff at Bright Angel; I think it had a good home! We took the shuttle to West Rim viewpoints and geocaches, and arrived back at Bright Angel around 2 or 2.30. We drove out via the East Rim, stopping at Tusayan Ruin and Museum and the Watch Tower at Desert View (really fabulous – more of Mary EJ Coulter’s work!). We left Grand Canyon National Park at 4.20 pm.We drove through Navajo lands and arrived at Monument Valley as the sun was setting. Disa took some great photos; Scott took some excellent photos of the views as well as our camp site. We had pasta with tomato basil sauce for dinner – as well as enough leftovers for breakfast. Disa got the coffee, Primus stove, water, etc ready so we could wake up before sunrise and just head over to the viewing area!
Scott’s Comments
Grand Canyon still fantastic Tusayan Ruin & Museum very interesting and my introduction to Anasazi culture. Tusayan was a ground level pueblo, as the majority were, but we would encounter the more spectacular cliff cave dwellings later at Mesa Verde.The Watchtower was built in 1932 and is beautifully proportioned & entirely sympathetic to its surroundings.
Monument Valley is stunningly beautiful (and beautifully stunning). It amazes me that we can drive from one incredible place, Grand Canyon, to another, Monument Valley, in 3 hours.