Landmarks v 1.0

Four Corners

The landmark called 'Four Corners' is the only place in America where four states touch each other as a corner. This location is smack dab in the middle of Indian Reservation territory, so it does not have the glitz or glamor of a National Park site. The ratty-ass billboards, entrance gate and rest rooms are indicative of a society.... (Never mind. I was going to get all preachy and shit. Back to the blog)
 People have been coming to this location for who-knows-how-many years, just to say they were able to be in fours states, all at the same time. You'd think there would be proper rest-rooms here. You'd be dead wrong. The out houses doors didn't even latch, not were there any sanitary products, (TP or hand cleanser),  available to anyone who needed a rest stop. Fortunately, G'ma met a nice couple there, and they guarded the door while the other used the 'facility'. 
(Side note: we have met a lot of great people on this trip. Bonnie and Gary Neighorn were right).
The site itself was set up pretty nice. Each state set it's own 'block' giving a little history. There is an eight inch, or so, plaque where you can 'stand in four states at one time'. Each state has it's own row of 'gift shops'; of course. It was high on my list of sights to see, and I was glad we made it. I was, however, a little disappointed. 
Life goes on.

It's some kind of sign. Either that, or it's just a frickin' white horse/

Mexican Hat and Monument Valley

Mexican Hat's only claim to fame is that it is a city on Route 163 and that it is the start, (or finish, depending on whether you are coming south or north), of the run through Monument Valley. That, and it has a cool name. 
Monument Valley is not a National Park. It's on Indian Reservation land. Luckily, we didn't have to pay any money to the Indians to drive across this beautiful land.
If case you do not know what Monument Valley is, it is where all of the John Wayne westerns were filmed, and has been seen in a lot of other movies, such as Forrest Gump. Once again, this was one of the "A-List" sites that I needed to see. The pictures below are probably one tenth of what I took. I have run out of adjectives to describe some of the scenery we have seen on this trip. Stunning, breathtaking, and beautiful all fall short. I think I need to go buy a Thesaurus to find new words.

 
  

Mexican Hat. Yeah. Not too much to look at here. Move along.

 Cortez Colorado

Not so much a landmark, but a stop we had to make. This was the first 'big' town we had seen in awhile, and the BAT needed an oil change. Since spending 30% of the original budget of this trip on the new engine, I wasn't going to take a chance with oil changes. 
Cortez was the first city we'd seen in awhile with a Ford dealership,  and the engine had 4900 miles on it, so that was where we stopped. I walked up to the service counter and asked if they could squeeze me in, and the counter guy, without even looking up, said, "yeah, in three weeks". I countered with the fact that we were from out of town and that I wouldn't be here in three weeks. His response was to shrug his shoulders and say, 'sorry. can't help ya then'. Since I had taken my daily dose of Celexa that morning, I didn't turn into 'psycho Steve', thanked him, and drove away. We drove one block and found a 'quickie' oil change place that had no one in line. I pulled in behind the building and stopped and got out of the truck to question the guy if he could handle the BAT. The owner complimented me on my choice of trucks and fifteen minutes later, we had new oil and a new filter and we went to a local restaurant for lunch.  As we drove back to the campground, we passed the 'quickie' oil change location. The folks were just sitting there watching traffic go by. They saw us and waved as we went by. THAT was cool. 

Next up; Mesa Verde National Park and Grand Canyon National Park.
Bump.