BajaNomad

FOUR CORNERS USA - FAMOUS LANDMARK

Pompano - 10-23-2009 at 09:25 AM

I had planned meticulously to make sure we could reach this special place, Four Corners, on our drive from Durango, Colorado to Grand Canyon, Arizona. As we all know, the Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Connecticut meet...the only point in the United States where the boundaries of four.. yes, count them... 'FOUR' .. states intersect.
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The monument also marks the boundary between two semi-autonomous native American governments, the Navajo Nation, who maintains the monument as a tourist attraction, and the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation.

Vast crowds of people flock to this spot located on the Colorado Plateau west of U.S. Highway 160, approximately 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Cortez, Colorado.
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The monument consists of a granite disk embedded with a smaller bronze disk around the point, surrounded by smaller, appropriately located state seals and flags representing both the states and tribal nations of the area. Circling the point, with two words in each state, the disk reads, "Four states here meet in freedom under God.".

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Our online advertisement research showed that the monument is a HUGELY popular tourist attraction..despite its remote and isolated location. It is touted to have become somewhat of a phenomenon for "vast crowds" of people to travel long distances to take pictures of family and friends at the monument in Twister like poses, sitting on the disk, in a circle of friends or family around the disk, or for couples to kiss directly over the disk.

This was the EXCITEMENT we had traveled almost 2000 miles so far to see..we are appropriately pumped and eager.

Around the monument, local Navajo and Ute artisans sell many souvenirs and wondrous foods. This was the kind of thing we had traveled almost 2000 miles so far to see..we are thrilled to have the opportunity to buy native-made products, a sand painting or two, eat some delicious Indian fry bread...you know, all the good stuff that makes this destination famous. We walked along the many stands.....hmmm, we must be early..

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And of course, to rest contentedly and securely at the RV resort camp that was highly recommended. As always on these road trips, it's nice to Chat with your RV neighbors about the travels and events of the day...
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It seemed we had arrived before the rush of all the other RVers jamming the roads to get here...we thanked our lucky stars that we'd arrived early to claim that choice site.

Did I mention secure? It was..and quiet...very quiet...strangely quiet. Quiet..except for the large number of rattlesnakes slithering around. We assumed the rattlers were part of some soon-to-come Ute ceremony.

Then we noticed that we were locked in at 6 pm when the single person at the monument closed and padlocked the gates. The sign said they would return at 8 a.m. to unlock the gates for the next day's crowds...and let us out? We slowly looked around our RV resort and realized that we were the only ones in the whole damn place...deathly quiet..except for the moaning wind...and the sound of..rattlers.

Found that air-card internet service was not available here..nor was cellphone service..and a butte blocked the southern sky for DirecTV satellite.

The Maltese Bros. developed a case of constipation due to their abject refusal to scat to the sounds of rattling. With tense buttocks, they stared wide-eyed out the windows the entire time.
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I gave up on the idea of sleeping, because of the constant rattling and buzzing sounds of the snakes outside biting our tires. Hmmm.. about 3 a.m. I heard a scurrying and then a loud thrashing sound outside. I ignored it..Nope, didn't care what it was...I was NOT going to open the door to see the chainsaw-wielding figure in a hockey mask standing there in the moonlight.

The sign said Open At 8 a.m. (which means we are no longer locked in!) --- I was there an hour early playing Willie Nelson's, "On the Road Again."
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OKAY DEAR...What direction to that world's largest ball of string I researched?.
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bajadedom - 10-23-2009 at 09:33 AM

I think your research was poor - especially the thought that Connecticut was one of the four states !!!

Paula - 10-23-2009 at 09:52 AM

Well at least none of those giant mutant worms popped out of the earth in the middle of the night! :o

So thank your lucky stars, and move on to the south rim of the Grand Canyon and Oak Creek Canyon-- plenty of good local shopping and hordes of tourists in those places. And both are gorgeous!

tripledigitken - 10-23-2009 at 09:57 AM

Pomp,

Wupatki National Monument is worth a stop, (just outside Flagstaff.)

If you stop for shopping at Cameron Trading Post, ask to see the High Dollar Artwork in a separate room.

Ken

http://www.desertusa.com/wup/index.html

Pompano - 10-23-2009 at 10:10 AM

No giant worms, Paula...an no snakes either. I fear my humor is a little too, say we say,..strange?

My co-pilot says I am 'obtuse.' I said I am staying on the fat-free diet, so why would she say that?

Actually, we much prefer no crowd areas and seek those out..hence the reason for visiting the Million Dollar Hwy, Four Corners, and Grand Canyon in late fall..no crowds..almost lonely. We have already been to the south rim on this trip and now are just outside Kingman, Arizona. And I agree..the Canyon is always gorgeous. First time for me there was in 1960 on a camping trip with my folks. I got to spit straight down 8250 feet!

Thanks for reading my poor attempt at humor while camped at Four Corners Monument. It was really quite fun camping solo within a locked part of the Navojo nation.

Next installment of our Non-Baja Trip report will be none other than the Grand Canyon itself. It's all fun.

p.s. Hi Ken..just read your post. We did stop at legendary Cameron Trading Post. We now possess 3 more Jack-a-lopes and a genuine map to the Lost Dutchman Mine.

[Edited on 10-23-2009 by Pompano]

Don Alley - 10-23-2009 at 10:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Paula
Well at least none of those giant mutant worms popped out of the earth in the middle of the night! :o



Woooosh - 10-23-2009 at 10:23 AM

Didn't I read recently that the four-corners marker is actually in the wrong place? Yup- off by 2.5 miles....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30327372/ns/travel-destinations/

[Edited on 10-23-2009 by Woooosh]

Baja&Back - 10-23-2009 at 10:28 AM

Oh no. You didn't miss Monument Valley, did you???
Turn around.
It's better than the Grand Canyon!

Don...

Pompano - 10-23-2009 at 10:30 AM

Those jaws are familiar! When we got ready to decamp the next morning we inadvertently pulled off one of the things tentacles. The tourist concession crew were cooking it up as we left a bit later.

Said to stop back and try a Graboid Burrito with frybread.

FOOD THEMES (94).jpg - 50kB

estebanis - 10-23-2009 at 10:33 AM

I wish I was retired and shadowing you with my trusty Hunting Dog! I saw a beautiful sight a few years ago driving back from working at the Power Plant near Farmington. There in the high desert at dawn near Ash Fork was an antelope mom feeding her baby with the sunrise silhouetting them on the skyline of the hill they were on.
I have been working hard and arguing technical details with arrogant engineers for what seems like weeks now...
I need a Baja Break!!!
Esteban

Pompano - 10-23-2009 at 10:34 AM

Whoosh...you should know better than to put credence to anything put out by our oft-mistaken news networks (all of them!)...that rumor was put to rest with a new survey by our goverment.

"In 2009, a controversy erupted with a series of newspaper articles claiming that the monument was misplaced in the initial surveys. The accuracy of the initial surveys has been defended by the U.S. National Geodetic Survey and the monument has been legally established as the corner of the four states."

Bob H - 10-23-2009 at 10:42 AM

Here I am with my dog Luke in Sept 2009 - Four Corners!
Bob H





[Edited on 10-23-2009 by Bob H]

Pompano - 10-23-2009 at 10:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by estebanis
I wish I was retired and shadowing you with my trusty Hunting Dog! I saw a beautiful sight a few years ago driving back from working at the Power Plant near Farmington. There in the high desert at dawn near Ash Fork was an antelope mom feeding her baby with the sunrise silhouetting them on the skyline of the hill they were on.
I have been working hard and arguing technical details with arrogant engineers for what seems like weeks now...
I need a Baja Break!!!
Esteban


Stay tuned for the next thread, Esteban. You will like some of the wildlife we came across.

El Camote - 10-23-2009 at 11:05 AM

Pomp, this is one of your most hilarious travelogues! Thanks for the morning laugh - I spit milk out of my nose and I wasn't drinking milk. :O

Can't wait for the next installment!

Woooosh - 10-23-2009 at 11:10 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Pompano
Whoosh...you should know better than to put credence to anything put out by our oft-mistaken news networks (all of them!)...that rumor was put to rest with a new survey by our goverment.

"In 2009, a controversy erupted with a series of newspaper articles claiming that the monument was misplaced in the initial surveys. The accuracy of the initial surveys has been defended by the U.S. National Geodetic Survey and the monument has been legally established as the corner of the four states."


I imagine that was easier than moving the whole monument. It's not like there's anything else around anyways. This is indeed a great drive though and I have done it from my place in Colorado to SoCal. Long before digital cams though... lol

Paula - 10-23-2009 at 11:35 AM

No giant worms, Paula...an no snakes either. I fear my humor is a little too, say we say,..strange?

My co-pilot says I am 'obtuse.' I said I am staying on the fat-free diet, so why would she say that?


Pompano, your humor is neither strange nor obtuse, just knee-slappin' funny!

Skipjack Joe - 10-23-2009 at 11:50 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by estebanis
I have been working hard and arguing technical details with arrogant engineers for what seems like weeks now...
I need a Baja Break!!!


I hear ya.

I'm ready, too. Heck, I'm more than ready.

It's amazing what that clear water and clean bright sand does for you.

Bajahowodd - 10-23-2009 at 12:31 PM

Great fun, Pomp. I'm guessing that if you came down the Million Dollar highway, you drove through Cortez CO on your way to Four Corners. Don't remember the name of the place, but I ate the spiciest (hottest) Mexican meal at a little place in Cortez years ago. Lucky for me, the pharmacy across the street was still open when we left the restaurant.

Just a bit SW of the 'corners'...

Mexray - 10-25-2009 at 12:47 PM

...you'll run by Shiprock...it kinda sticks up out of the desert like Ayres Rock, down under...but a bit 'skinnier'...it changes colors as the sun rises and sets - another 'spooky' place this time of year...


vandenberg - 10-25-2009 at 01:01 PM

Roger,
You likely have been to Monument Valley, but in case you haven't, heed Baja&Back's advice and give it a go. From four corners to the Canyon it's almost on the way. Just a "slight" detour.:biggrin: