West Quest Part Deux - Day 64

New Mexico to Arizona to New Mexico to Colorado to Utah!

Back to Day 63

Wednesday, 12 October 2022

Today was a “bucket list” checkoff day by visiting Four Corners Monument — the one place in the United States where four states come together. Have you ever been in four states at once? Frieda and I have now!

But, I jumped ahead a bit.

Here’s how things looked as we prepared to drive away from Gallup, New Mexico:

This was the first time we have camped with full hookups but never even used them — no electricity, water or sewer. I suppose it was kind of a waste of money but at the time I booked the campground, I thought we would be using all of these services. What’s happened is that 1), the weather is a lot cooler so we don’t need to run the AC and 2), we are getting a lot more comfortable trusting the onboard capabilities of our Ollie. Why spend time hooking up and then disconnecting if you really don’t need to? We have found that we can easily go two days with no hookups and could probably go three or four if we made a deliberate effort to use alternate toilet and shower facilities. The two major limitations that we always have to think about are the toilet given it’s only about 10 gallons usable and electricity for AC if it’s really hot as we will deplete the onboard lithium batteries in about four hours in full sunlight.

As for our onboard propane furnace, we definitely needed it this morning, which leads to another thing we’ve learned about our Ollie and recommend to others: Only use one propane tank at a time. We spent money on electronic tank monitors that don’t work very well. The old fashioned method is much better: use one tank until it runs out, then switch tanks knowing you must refill the empty one ASAP. During the night, I noticed we ran out of propane as the furnace was no longer working. No big deal, but as soon as I got up, I went outside, switched the lever over to the full tank, and slowly opened up the tank valve (never open them quickly as it can prevent the system from pressurizing properly). Two onboard tanks is the way to go with the 30 lb tank option for the Ollie being highly recommended.

The drive north this morning through the extreme northwest corner of New Mexico was a reminder that native Americans have not fared well under the tribal lands system that most of us don’t understand. I certainly don’t. The standard home is a travel trailer or a single wide, and those are typically in poor condition. How folks survive, let alone find a place to shop or get medical attention is beyond me as these homes are located in the middle of nowhere.

As we approached Four Corners, the rock outcroppings became more numerous and dramatic.

Four Corners Monument has a New Mexico address and parking lot, but from the south, you briefly enter Arizona again before going back into New Mexico.

Here is the Monument as seen from the road (in Arizona) — and four states coming together — right there in the middle of the following picture:

Right before the Monument, you reenter New Mexico.

We were pleased to see that the Navajo Nation runs this park as I’m sure they can use the dollars generated.

With my left arm in Arizona, right arm in Utah, right foot in Colorado and left foot in New Mexico, this “bucket list” item gets checked off.

And the lovely Frieda doing it her way!

A selfie in Colorado:

And one in Utah:

And Arizona:

And finally New Mexico:

Finally, for fun, I can say that simultaneously, I’ve had a finger in each of these four states!

We headed northeast briefly heading out of the Monument, which took us into Colorado.

Just a few miles later, we entered Utah.

Four states in one day in our Ollie! So the map now looks like this:

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Spoiler alert: We will be adding only ONE more state to the map before returning home on or about 30 October. In the comments, please take your best guess as the state and why you think it will be that particular one given the various ways we might be heading home to Harriman, Tennessee for an arrival on 30 or 31 October.

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The rock formations get very interesting once you get into Utah.

We arrived safely at Sun Outdoors Moab Downtown around 5 pm. I forgot to get a picture of our campsite today but will do so tomorrow. We are here for two nights so we can visit Arches National Park tomorrow. (Another “bucket list” item and a park neither of us has ever seen.)

See you tomorrow! And don’t forget to comment on which state you think will be the final one for West Quest Part Deux and why.

Go to Day 65