Sorry....more rocks

After many enjoyable weeks in Utah, we finally moved on and are now in Cortez, Colorado.  We left Moab last Saturday heading South, and couldn't resist diverting into Canyonlands again - this time to visit the Needles district.  There, the girls were stretched to their limits with a record-breaking 11 mile walk to celebrate Mother's Day!  They both put in a sterling effort, but are now threatening strike action.

Despite many hunts with the children, we still haven't seen a rattlesnake, but were lucky enough to spot an American badger which looks cute, but apparently eats rattlesnakes.

We left the Needles promising a respite from long walks and spent a couple of relaxing days around Cedar Mesa and the Valley of the Gods.  We found some idyllic campsites and spent our afternoons just pottering around.

We really loved the Valley of the Gods, which is known as a 'miniature Monument Valley' but has few visitors due to the long dirt access road.  After prising ourselves away, we visited Goosenecks State Park where the San Juan River winds through 5 miles of 'entrenched meander' to go just one mile - a geography teacher's dream.

Our route then took us through the real Monument Valley, which was every bit as impressive as in the movies. 

Having had our 'John Wayne' moment, we headed back into Arizona (our route is becoming something of an entrenched meander) to the Canyon de Chelly.  The land here is still owned and farmed by the Navajo but the beautiful valley contains many relics from its past inhabitants.