We left Mexican Hat in the morning heading into Arizona.
I slept through some excitement late on the evening before when a local sheriff's deputy who had been following a car with people drinking alcohol (open cans in a car is an offense). The deputy dealt with the matter but as the kids drove past our motel they dumped their crate of beer out of the car, even though that was not the offense. The deputy came back and got talking to some of the other lads who were still up. They had a long chat and a guided tour of the police cruiser and the gear. Very impressive arsenal of equipment. Check out Paul's blog for more. The best bit was the deputy gave Paul a San Juan County Sheriff's Department shoulder patch. Missed it :-(
The run to Greasewood Springs was long but not challenging for me. There were two possible routes to follow. At the point they split there was a shopping centre where I had hoped to get some more camcorder tapes but the centre was shut due to power failure so I opted for the easy alternative which passed a second shopping centre at Tuba City. Mission accomplished. Three of the lads took the other route which included two long off tarmac stretches.
We met again at Keanes Canyon on the Hopi reservation and pressed on to Greasewood after an ice cream.
Greasewood Springs, Arizona is on the Navajo Nation territory where Chris (Bilco) had friends who had arranged to cook us a traditional Navajo meal. After the meal we were to move the bikes a few miles and finish the day by sleeping over at an isolated house which had been built back in the thirties by the grandfather of Terry, Chris's friend. Terry's grandparents had passed on and the property was disused but was a perfect setting for an outdoor evening on the reservation, with a big bonfire, marsh mallows and good conversation about the Navajo Nation and the history of the people.
Oh dear - pride comes before a fall - literally! I was so pleased to have made it round Monument Valley the previous day without a problem and then tonight we had to get down about three miles of sandy track to get to the house. Suffice to say that eventually the front wheel dug into the sand and the bike was down. Anyway - bike was OK but I managed to twist my ankle. So...
Dear Charlie,
Mate, regarding the 2011 Dakar Rally, sorry but I'm gonna have to pull out. Decided me and sand really don't get on well together when on two wheels (etc)
Anyway, a bit sore last night but concentrated on resting (easy), keeping it elevated, icing it and compressing it and was able to ride the next morning. Despite the discomfort I found it a fascinating evening and I would love to know more about the Navajo and to have spent longer learning more about their traditions.
Thanks to all the great Navajo people we met for making us feel so welcome. I felt very fortunate to have been able to experience it.
No more off-road for Neil this holiday. I love it, but got to play safe.
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