Sequels never measure up, they say. In some ways, maybe that was true of today’s flight. We started the day by taking Stacey and Michael (two of our three hosts in Castle Rock near Denver) on our brief aerial tour of Boulder. This included spotting the Goat Farm, and wondering if Maddie saw us fly over. Pix of that tour later, but back to Rocky II.
1437 La Manga Pass
Our first flight through the Rockies at Monarch Pass was through towering peaks. Today we followed the road angling up a relatively shallow valley from bottom center toward the left. Being at the southern end of the Rockies, it might seem pale in comparison but keep in mind that road is over 10,000 feet above sea level and still beautifully adventurous. Next, this being the 4C Adventure and neither of us ever having visited the actual Four Corners monument, we decided to detour a couple of miles for a look.
1520 Four Corners
I’ll admit it would be mildly amusing to stand on all fours at the very center, with one limb in each state. But there seemed to be a toll gate halfway from the highway, and the whole thing is surrounded by two perimeters of merchandise. I’m happy to have simply flown in a two minute circle that took us over four states and producing a state of satisfaction that we’re spared the drive (and fee) to go there again.
The prize for today though, probably goes to our repeat flight through Monument Valley. While it was windy again, the air was clearer and the thrill undiminished.
1745 Monument Valley
This time we also flew out over the southern end where the rocks are smaller, yet perhaps even more magnificent. I’m sure every one of these spires has at least one name and a very interesting collection of stories, yet I’ve taken to calling this portion the Little Monument Valley.
1780 Little Monument Valley
Though we have many hundreds of pix from today, some I like a lot, these will have to do as we rest up in Flagstaff for our final leg home tomorrow. Then as we settle back into our little paradise, these pix will grow even more powerful as they rekindle our memory of traversing these marvels amid a panorama of delights.
John & Anne Wiley 
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