Last night we experienced two things we wanted to mention: We did some star gazing thanks to the Ex-Nasa guy who put up his private telescope on our resort’s parking lot and listened to his explanations of what we were seeing. For dinner we went for a mexican restaurant option where we tasted for the first time cacti. They were better than expected however we might not order it again.

Today we opt for a full-in experience: Our radio plays country music as we take off from Sedona for a 500k+ km of road. While we noticed a lot of churches and places offering spiritual advice or places to get you aura photo taken in Sedona, we also saw that there are “UFO watching” experiences to be booked. We for sure did not exploit all the options this town offers :-)

At the start of our 5 hour long drive we cross the green Oak Creek before we gain altitude. When we reach the top of the valley we stop for a view to note that the left rim of the canyon is lower than the right one. The two sides are composed of layers of different types of stones.

All of a sudden the landscape changes and we drive thru pine tree forests and observe the “watch out for elk” signs. At the horizon we see mountains with snow on the top, which is bewildering given that we are feeling hot in the 25 degrees by 10 a.m. at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea.

Next we stop at the sunset crater volcano. The surrounding mountains are the reminders of a once significantly higher mountain that exploded or imploded. We were able to pass along the lava stream which seemed to have passed just yesterday (and in earth’s time it was actually just yesterday). Silas is looking out for obsidian because this is a precious stone that comes in handy in the game “Minecraft” that he loves to play.

Before we know it the forest is gone and we are leaving the snow topped mountains behinds us as we drive thru hilly and rather flat territory where only bushes grow. In between we see a huge cow herd accompanied by cowboys on their horses. We are so fascinated by the sight that we forget to take pictures. Soon after there are only hills that leave no room for plants to grow.

Even though we spend a long time driving thru across this landscape we are surprised about two things: First, how flat it is and second that there are people living out here in nowhere, mostly in the rather small (for American standards) pre-fabricated homes that we keep seeing being transported on the road. However, most of these homes have seen their date of production a long time ago and look rather dated. Many of these places keep “things around” and it looks like a car junkyard. We also pass school buses and wonder where they pick up kids and where they find the school as we fail to see one as far as we can see.

Today we have passed the territory of different native communities: Yavapai, Coconino and Navajo. Their legacy is still very much present. We visited another site where the Hopi tribe once lived in a cave. It is a very arid region and the natives knew how to make best use of every and any plant that survives in this place.

the meaning of resiliance in a picture
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While there are quite some tourists in this waste desert we also pass gas stations and road side shops that have long past seen their best days and are abandoned today. We were intrigued by the graffiti on the walls.

At some point we reach the Monument Valley. If you happen to have seen the movie “Forrest Gump” you would remember the scene in which Forrest stops running after a long tour across the states and back during which he had acquired followers (and apparently invented the slogan “shit happens” and the smile icon as he wipes off his muddy face with a shirt handed to him). Otherwise you might remember the Monument Valley from watching western movies. It does feel pretty wild out here.

Wild is also that our navigation system tells us that the next turn is in 114 miles ahead. We took many pictures of stone formations and will spare you from sharing all here with the exception of the funny looking "mexican hat" which looks like a person wearing a sombrero.

We finally reach the place where we spend the night just to find out that it's a farm!