North we went, riding the white lines hard from Flagstaff, AZ towards the exit to Tuba City. Once again trying to out run the Monsoon storms and the impending nightfall. Our day had been long enough as it was and not a one of us wanted to extend it in to the night. Fortunately once you get on the north side of Flagstaff the road runs straight for miles - dead straight - so it's easy to open it up and run 85 to 90mph and we did, trying to make up minutes from the hours that we'd lost earlier in the day. Before we knew it we were taking the exit East towards Tuba City, still running hard and clicking the miles away. We took our 75 mile stretch breaks and we tried to push them up to the 100 - 125 mile mark or until our backsides started complaining too loudly. Time for gas and a break in Tuba City and once again we began to feel better about the distance we'd put between us and the morning.
East of Tuba City the road runs through some of the Northern Arizona Plateu Canyons making for a senic ride as you wind your way through the rock formations. The clouds overhead blocked just enough sunlight to add a nice coloration to the landscape with the occassional single ray of white light that was allowed to pass through the heavens to the earth making for some spectacular lighting, all of it seemed to be for our enjoyment. We would like to think that it was a nice visual reward for the hell we had been through that morning.
Pounding farther east and north towards Kayenta and Monument Valley the clouds had started to rain just enough to dampen the road and take the edge back off of the Arizona heat. Making the last few miles into Kayenta a bit more pleasent. The group rolled in to Kayenta about an hour before sunset giving us time to grab a bite to eat, re-evaluate our situation, plan or re-plan the last part of our day and relax for a bit. None of us could believe what a day it had been and considered the option of getting a room at the Holiday Inn just across the road. 
Sometimes it would be best if this group would listen to their instincts, but as it was we all decided that we'd lost so much time it would be best to push into the evening and get as far as we could on day one.
Leaving the Burger King we turn north and head in to Monument Valley. For all the struggles the group encountered throughout the day it seemed as if the Travel God's were going to shine on us for the remainder of the way.
If you have ever seen Monument Valley first hand you can understand what we were experiencing, there's nothing quite like riding the wind in to a cloud filled sunset with all of natures glory around you. This was, without a doubt, the most spectacular ride of our entire journey across the Western United States. We began riding north through the valley as the sun was setting to the west of us. Sunlight painting the clouds and the valley with a thousand shades of reds, yellows and blues. The monsoon coulds towering all around us added a dramatic effect to natures lighting. It seemed as if the colors of the world danced everywhere we looked. It's no wonder that the Navajo chose to settle in this part of the country.
We're starting to feel like the road gremlins were gone, and the travel Gods have given us a "pass" with each bend in the road offering something new to take our breath away. The Valley started to grow dark with the setting sun and the lightning started to flash along the valley's northern edge adding an increadible touch to the show that nature had been giving us. The sound of our Harley's rolling across the desert floor were soon being drowned out by the Thunder rolling across the northern skies. Little did we know the price we were about to pay for our admission in to God's light and color spectacular.
Tuba City, Flagstaff, Holiday Inn, Monument Valley, Kayenta, Monsoon Clouds, riding the white lines
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