Day 5 - Thelma and Louise Notes From the Road

Before we woke up on day 5 we were already behind schedule. Of course, I didn't know that yet. Even so, we had some time in the morning as we waited for the car to be fixed.

We headed out bright and early to Dead Horse Point State Park. For those of you who may not be aware this is where the final scene of Thelma and Louise was filmed. The oh my god they drove off the cliff scene! When we got there, we found that spot but unfortunately, you can't drive to the edge anymore. We didn't let that stop us. We climbed there and took lots of photos. In addition to the significance in the movie, this is a fabulously beautiful state park.

The story behind the name of the park is not a pleasant one, but I feel compelled to share it

According to one legend, around the turn of the century the point was used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa top. Cowboys rounded up these horses, herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck, which is only 30-yards-wide, was then fenced off with branches and brush. This created a natural corral surrounded by precipitous cliffs straight down on all sides, affording no escape. Cowboys then chose the horses they wanted and let the culls or broomtails go free. One time, for some unknown reason, horses were left corralled on the waterless point where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River, 2,000 feet below.

Now you know.

The point where T&L drove off the cliff

2019 T&L at the point

A little closer

So, 2019 was not just another Thelma and Louise trip to Nancy. 2019 was the Thelma and Louise Tribute Tour. Let me explain. Nancy's first copilot , Karen aka Thelma 1 passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. They didn't see Utah on the trip they took together and Karen kept saying she wanted to see Utah. Nancy printed up a bunch of photos of Karen and wrote the story on the back. She put them in plastic covers and tied a ribbon on them. Then, throughout Utah (and other states as well) she found beautiful spots to leave her.

Karen overlooking the point

I think Nancy might have been talking to Karen when this photo was snapped
.

After the park we headed back into Moab to grab breakfast and stop at the bookstore. Back of Beyond Books was the name of the store and the women working asked us about our Thelma and Louise shirts. When they heard our story they told us some stories about the original Louise aka Susan Sarandon visiting town. They also asked if they could take our photo for their wall of fame!

While we were in the bookstore we got the call that the car was ready so we scooted on out of there.

Next stop, Page, Arizona and the Antelope Slot Canyon. A mere 4.50 hours away. This was the only planned thing on our agenda and we needed to be there in pretty much 4.5 hours with no margin for error. But before you panic, there was a one hour time change difference in our favor AND Nancy was driving. We made it with enough time to spare that we fit in Horseshoe Bend, also in Page, Arizona before we got to the slot canyon.

You have probably seen photos of Horseshoe Bend and don't even realize that is what you are looking at. It's a background on many Windows operating systems and I just discovered it's a screen saver on AT&T Uverse. When we hiked up that hot, sandy, dusty trail to see the view I commented that I felt as if I had been there before. I even asked Hubby on the phone if we had previously been there. When I got home I had an aha moment! 

Anyway Horseshoe Bend is just a bend in the Colorado river. A really cool bend. From the overlook 1,000 feet above it you can see the entire thing and it is breathtaking. My photo doesn't do it justice.

Nancy playing king of the mountain just to mess with me

I told you it was a cool bend

From here we raced to downtown Page to catch the bus for the much anticipated Antelope Slot Canyon. Since my babbling words won't add much, please indulge me as I just add some photos of this amazing place.

You enter through this crack in the mountain and glory awaits

Eye of the dragon

Look sideways to see the heart

Leland, our awesome tour guide

It goes without saying that I have a lot more photos of the slot canyon and everything else. If you want to see them all, I'd happy to share my photo link with you.

After all that, we were tired.  We headed in the direction of Farmington, New Mexico for the night on our way to eventually Phoenix. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Some things I learned on Day 5:

• Speed limits are just a suggestion.
• The time change between Arizona and New Mexico is further complicated by the Navajo Nation and the way their land goes in and across these two states. From Page AZ until I got to Cleveland, I was never sure what time it was.
• It's hard to pick a good hotel in a good location from a website on a cell phone while traveling in excess of 80 mph. Just saying.

Thanks for sticking with me. One more day so check back tomorrow to see our adventures on Day 6.