Oops, Where is the Four Corners? Plus a little teaser....

Cortez was a definite turning point in the terrain. To the north are mountains with twisty roads that snake along canyons and follow the contours of the land, while to the south is desert with the occasional rock outcrop and very straight roads, where you can see ahead for miles. The contrast is very striking and this happens very quickly. I think this marks the start of the “desert” stage of my long ride.

Not far into my journey today, I went to see the Four Corners where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet. I meant to go there, but apparently, I didn’t.

Like many thousands of people before me, I went out into the desert and stood on the only point in the US where four states meet....

The position of the Four Corners was determined in 1875 where surveying was as accurate as it is today. Probably due to the invention of GPS, it was discovered in April 2009 that the current marker is actually 1,807 feet to the east of where is should be (it was reported at the time to be 2.5 miles out of position, but this turned out to be false). So, whilst I did go the legally adopted position of the Four Corners, I didn’t go to the real intersection.

The monument is a little odd. As you approach it, you first see some flagpoles and a row of huts. Parking your bike carefully on the loose stones, you next see the huts are kiosks selling Native Indian jewellery and crafts and it becomes clear the four corners marker is in the circle of flagpoles. That is just about all that is there. I would have thought there might have been something else – maybe a building that shows something about the history of the four states or something similar. It seemed a bit bleak out there in the middle of nowhere.

The scenery took on the feeling of a large wide-open spaces with long distances between interesting features such as rock outcrops....

I did take one gravel road towards the San Juan River, but I couldn’t get close enough to take a good photo. I did get a picture of my bike next to a rock cliff ....

Soon I crossed the border into Arizona, the 26th state I have ridden in on this tour. The terrain was what I expected....

In a town called Bluff, close to the Utah / Arizona border, I stopped to telephone Jackie and a bike rolled up next to me. “I didn’t expect to see an English number plate here” said the rider in an English west-country accent. The rider, Simon from Warminster was like me, on a long ride through the US. He started one day before me from Montague, Massachusetts and as at the point I met him, had done 10,241 miles! Of course we had a coffee and compared notes and road stories....

Before we parted, we exchanged ideas about where each of us might go to. Simon was heading north where I had just come from and vice-versa. It was good to meet you Simon!

I did take pictures of Monument Valley, but I didn’t have much time to take many, so I am saving those I did take for after I have returned when I travel north again and when I have taken more photos. For now, here is just a teaser.... it was a fantastic place!....