The Trip back to Gold Canyon AZ and yet another surprise...
this a good one!!!
The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is a rolling landscape of
badlands which offers some of the most unusual scenery
found in the Four Corners Region. Time and natural elements have
etched a fantasy world of strange rock formations made of
interbedded sandstone, shale, mudstone, coal, and silt.
With a description like that, who could resist making another
unplanned stop, especially when it was on an alternate route
we'd never been on before, Hwy 371.
Translated from the Navajo language,
Bisti (Bis-tie) means "a large area of shale hills".
De-Na-Zin takes its name from the Navajo words for "cranes."
Fossils also occur in this sedimentary landform.
After 7 more miles the road turned to dirt but
that didn't detour us. When we purchased our new Honda CRV
"Touring" model, the dealer asked me what color I wanted
and my answer was "dirt". This color is officially Metallic Sandstone...
The weathering of the sandstone forms
hoodoos - weathered rock in the form of pinnacles, spires,
cap rocks, and other unusual forms.
Here are a few of our favorite shots. Sit back and enjoy...
(And, remember to click on any photo to see more detail.)
A few hours later, another surprise, but this time not good...
Brighter, but some burnt spots on the ground, as well
as signs of borate on the hillside.
Then billowing smoke
in several directions!!!
By the time we got to Globe it was even worse...
Not one fire,
but 2 separate ones.
By the time we got to Miami AZ our route to
home was closed as the fire had jumped Hwy 60,
so they turned us around at 42 miles from home
and sent us on an alternate route. See where Miami and
Gold Canyon are, at the lower edge of the map... well that's all
we had to drive to get home. The blue line indicates the alternate route which
took us 134 extra miles and 2 1/2 additional hours of driving.
We did get to cross the beautiful bridge below the dam
at Rosevelt Lake (water, some trees and mountains)!!!
By the time we arrived home, we decided we could unpack
tomorrow and simply closed the tailgate!!!
Summary: Those 2 fires are now 40% continued but as of
this morning 6/10//21 they have burned over 87,000 acres.
We salute the fire fighters who are out there working so
hard, to save homes and businesses
when's it 100 degrees today, without the heat from the Fire.
All's Well that Ends Well. And we have many fond memories
from our Seven Day Outing and we have a few more planned!!!
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