Monument Valley

It was the weekend again and this time Jacqueline was being very ambitious. She had so much fun camping the last weekend that she wanted to get out of town almost immediately. So we got everything packed and were out of town Friday night. The problem with that in the spring, or even late winter you could call it, was that we rolled into the Sand Island Campground outside of Bluff, Utah, after dark. We found an area that would be all to ourselves except one vehicle. Jacqueline found it creepy though so we went to the other part of the campground where there were people and found a campsite in the dark. Jacqueline was not as pleased with this experience. It is definitely different to roll in after dark. 

When we awoke, though, we had some good stuff to check out. Sand Island has some neat petroglyphs. There is actually a huge panel unknown to most out there unless they manage to surf the internet looking for a campground near Bluff. We walked a short trail and took quite a few pictures. It was looking like it was going to be a good day to be out and this was just the beginning. We got in the Xterra and drove toward Monument Valley. Along the way, we took a small detour to see Mexican Hat. I drove by Mexican Hat probably a half dozen times but never found the time to get out of the car and take an actual picture. We kept on driving because our destination on this day was Monument Valley. Jacqueline had never been and always wanted to go, so we went. We got to the visitor center nice and early. 

They were still working on opening it, but the pregnant lady had to use the facilities, so she was glad that it was open. We decided that we wanted to take the scenic drive, which this time of year, personal vehicles could take. The last time I went, it was only for guided trips. The road was a lot rougher than Jacqueline expected. Soon she was getting rather worried about how all the shaking was impacting the baby. First the baby was really active and then she wasn't. I reassured her that if all it took was a little shaking in a car on a dirt road to hurt a baby, we probably would not have as many healthy people out there. 

But there is not much you can say to a worried soon to be mother to calm her and she began to feel more and more sick to her stomach, most likely from worry. We continued the drive though and the cliffs were really beautiful. It was not quite our style though as we were not the dirt road driving enthusiasts. We were both happy when it was over and we could get out on the trail and do a little hike. The only trail in Monument Valley is the Wildcat Trail. This one left from right by the campground. We figured that with all the people there we could not get lost trying to find the trail, but instead of going right at the beginning, we went left and got ourselves all backwards and had to backtrack back to the trailhead to find the actual trail. It was a pretty hike that took us first downhill and then to a junction where we went right around the loop. Jacqueline was doing great with the hike being so pregnant, though we were moving slower and taking more breaks, it was still fun to be out. She was still paranoid about the baby having not felt her. She had been feeling her so frequently that this was different. I told her that it was from all the motion, but she was starting to make me worried. I assumed it would be fine, though, as we continued the hike getting great views of the buttes and the large mesa we were circling around. The weekend was supposed to continue when we got back to the car with another night of camping, but we saw the weather changing, knew there was weather coming in, and had a meeting deciding to bag the night of camping. Good thing, because we got hit with about a foot of snow overnight. We were really enjoying being weekend warriors, though, and were looking forward to the days we could share these wonderful sights with our little one. By the way, she was kicking again by that evening and mom was reassured once again that we would be blessed with a healthy, happy little girl.