The (one) thing you have when you're out of work is time. And since whiteout conditions take the edge of a sightseeing trip, I decided to hang around Kayenta, field some job-related emails and calls, and take a few shots along US-160 that I had to pass up on the way south.
First, a couple of comments about this rather, ah, remote part of the world. As Lileks likes to note, the future never comes all at once. Bits of it, like satellite TV and wifi, have filtered in here, but cell phone coverage has not. Today, I heard an ad for a Christy Lane. No, it didn't mention the price of the 8-track, but had it been on TV, it would no doubt have been followed by Nanette Fabray blowing her hair out of the way and a spot for the latest Ronco innovation.
The other thing you notice is the dogs. They're not dangerous, they're just not...kept very well. They seem to be tame enough; one of them came up and immediately started playing chase with Sage. Of course, he also wanted to be fed. But driving up to scope out Monument Valley for tomorrow, I saw five or six running and playing by the side of the road. I wonder what the locals do to keep them from breeding out of control and going feral?
OK, on to the pictures. This, of Church Rock, about 6 miles north of Kayenta, and another a few miles up, shows what kind of weather I was up against:
There's a spot a couple of miles of from that called Baby Rocks. Apparently, it's a good place to start a failed business, since I saw both an abandoned garage and a decrepit hogan-shaped cafe. There's still a trailer, and a dog that I set off by stopping to take pictures, but that's all.
A fine skeleton of an old hogan:
And finally, the snow-swollen Chinle Wash:
And that's it. Tomorrow, Monument Valley in winter. Hey, at least it's not 100 degrees in the shade.
