November 20, 2020
Peeing a swimming pool.
We once again had conflicts about crossing Navajo Nation. They are hard hit by COVID and announced a three week stay at home order days before we were to leave home. What to do? I called the Kayenta police department and spoke with Dispatcher #620 - who read me the official statement and said we could travel if we must, but don't stop, not even for gas.
We decided that was doable. We planned to leave directly after work on Thursday. That morning we were loading the van up. Jacinto mentioned that his bike brake was rubbing a little and he should look at it and wipe the frame down. It was a good thing he decided to check the brakes. The reason the brakes were rubbing is because he had a broken spoke! What to do? Jacinto has two other bikes, neither were tour ready. He called the shop in Grand Junction (an hour away). Yes, they could take care of his wheel this morning. Our daughter happened to be going to Junction. By the time we got off work, she had the wheel back. Disaster averted.
COVID and dining is an interesting experience. We stopped at Chipotle's in Fruita to eat. Mesa County is now stage red and restaurants were to go to take out food only on the morrow. I mentioned something about that as we were ordering, but the clerk said they were able to keep their dining room open because they had an A+ rating with the health department and had never been written up for anything. I didn't realize there were exemptions to code red . . .
We continued on our way and spent the night at the Four Corners Inn in Blanding where we had stayed this summer. I presume the elderly man who checked us in was the owner. I asked if he had any updated information on the Navajo Nation closure. He said - they don't want us there. That does rather sum up the situation, doesn't it?
This summer we had several poor overnight stays in a row. By the time we got to Blanding I thought the motel a palace. I'm not sure if it was a case of one room being updated, or if my judgement was the skewed over the summer. The room we had this time was not nearly as nice. It wasn't as roomy. No sofa. The bed was squishy and concave. The towels were skimpy and thread bare. The room had peeling wall paper and . . . . you get the idea . . . Ah, well. We went straight to bed and got up and left in the morning. I didn't try the internet or anything.
The new day gave us an eight hour drive, largely comprising of crossing Navajo Nation. We enjoyed seeing the road in the daylight, as we bicycled this direction in 2018 with Oren. It was fun to comment on our previous experiences in the area. As we passed through Mexican Hat, the entire town appeared closed up. The gas station was open. The San Juan Inn where we had stayed this past summer, had a chain link barrier across the entrance to their compound.
It seemed to me that there was zero traffic on the road. I was happy we were crossing the area in broad daylight. We soon arrived in Kayenta. There was more traffic than I expected and all fast food restaurants were open. Town looked like a sleepy Sunday morning, but there was foot and car traffic everywhere.
The further we got into Navajo Nation, the more traffic we saw. There were even 5-6 locations with tables set up and ladies selling items. We saw one food truck way out in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps people knew to drive to the truck? Or they were hoping for road traffic?
Edit - Marilyn pointed out that we were traveling during the day on Friday and the Stay at Home order didn't start until evening.
Jacinto wanted to stop and buy a soda. His theory was that stores were open, so they wanted our business. I thought we should honor the spirit of the stay at home order and keep driving. We did not stop for the soda, but finally I could no longer deny my bladder. I picked a deserted road and parked the van at an angle so one side could not be seen from the highway. I ended up peeing so much I was squatting in a pond. My shoes were muddy when I got back in the van.
The drive was so long that I made plane reservations home as we were driving. We will leave our van in Tucson, fly home, and then fly back for Christmas break. That will eliminate two trips through Navajo Nation and also the concern about driving in December in the snow. It commits us to returning to Tucson to get the van! We had planned to return, but now we are committed.
We are at the Quality Inn by the Airport. Reviews were mostly one star. Gulp. We've stayed here several times. It is too conveniently located on the southern edge of town, close to the bike path. I also used points to pay for the room. We have two nights for free and are paying a discount for the third night. The room is pretty rough. The walls have been repaired a number of times and everything needs a coat of paint. We had only two thin bath towels, no wash clothes, or hand towels. The bed is firm, the pillows are squishy, and the sheets, upon inspection, look fine.
Bubba's Pampered Pedalers just finished a week long Tucson area tour for a cool $3,000. per rider. They started at the Lodge in the Desert. Jenia had previously mentioned how she enjoyed staying there. The location is now on my radar for sure. I would wager there isn't a man sitting on the curb at the check in, working on a 12 pack of beer!
We have the bikes in the room and mostly ready to go for a warm up ride tomorrow. We've made arrangements to have an outdoor early dinner with Tom, Hank, and Steve.
It was 88 degrees here at 6 PM! We aren't in Colorado, Toto!
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |