Leaving Monument Valley is always heartbreaking. The valley is so out-of-the-world, so beautiful. With much sadness in our hearts, we drove up from Monument Valley on State Highway 163 towards Gooseneck State Park just across the border from Arizona into Utah.
The road out of Monument Valley to Utah is as gorgeous as the road into it from Arizona. The views along the road, and all around, are straight out of old western movies. The place has remained the same, even if new blacktop stretches through the valley for miles, and the lone riders on horses are long gone.
Soon the road crosses the San Juan river, and we come across the little village of Mexican Hat, famous for its "Mexican Hat Rock". Nothing more than a minimal roadside attraction. If you want to just drive on, you will do just fine. However, do stop at the roadside restaurant called the "Swinging Steak". Interesting name, you might say. And yes, the name is so because the steaks are cooked on an iron grill that swings over the fire. The cook said, and I concur, the flavor of the meat is enhanced by the swinging action of the grill. Don't miss the "Swinging Steak" if you pass that way.
Soon you climb up a bit, take Rte 261, and then Rte 316 that takes you to the viewpoint over San Juan River in Goosenecks State Park, Utah.
Soon you are in the parking lot of Goosenecks State Park. The view from the top is quite amazing. No camera can capture the immensity of the scale. The San Juan river cuts a thousand feet deep winding gorge, reminiscent of goosenecks, through the sandstone plateau.
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| San Juan river at Goosenecks State park. Image courtesy Wikipedia. |
This is how Goosenecks look from the top. As you see, you can not capture the immensity of the scale from the viewpoint in the State Park. Next time around, I need to see it from the level of the river, for a yet another, I am certain, amazing view.
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