May 16-17, 2015*

I am on a confidential two week mission; if the narration seems brief and a little incomplete, that’s because it is.

I was met in the ghetto of Long Beach on Saturday morning to begin a seven hour drive to Flagstaff, Arizona.

The first leg of my mission was to make it to Monument Valley, Utah.

The first movie to use Monument Valley as a location was Stagecoach, filmed in 1938.

Since then, dozens of films have been made in the valley, or featured in part.

And yes, there is a lot more to Monument Valley than just a movie location.

The price of gas in California, near the Arizona boarder.

We passed the world’s biggest golf ball.

It was a long drive – not for a trucker, but for me.

We spent the night at a Hotel in Flagstaff, AZ.

There, I was told of the location of several sealed envelopes for various contingencies including hospitalization, vegetative state and death.

I hope the journey ends with those envelopes still sealed and not in my possession.

After a night’s rest, the journey continued for another three hours to Monument Valley.

The price of gas in Arizona – Note to self, buy gas in Arizona before crossing back in to California.

It was a journey over a two-lane, two-way highway – a lights-on all the way, daylight journey.

Me outside of Monument Valley.

Right before we got to the “Monument Valley Welcome Center,” we crossed in to Utah.

$20 was paid to the Navajo Nation to cross in to the Indian Reservation.

WARNING: There is NO alcohol (a.k.a. Fire Water) sold on the Indian Reservation.

I couldn’t tell if real Indians worked on the reservation, or if they were Mexicans dressed as Indians.

Me at Monument Valley.

Yes, you can get dusty there – I guess bathing in their restrooms has been a problem.

Monument Valley from the Hotel.

Is there much difference between me and John Wayne, except he stood seven inches taller than me and smoked five packs of cigarettes a day?

The drive back to Flagstaff, AZ seemed a lot shorter than the drive out.

The one thing that was not factored into this leg of the trip?

Flagstaff is at 7,000 feet elevation – that presented some undisclosed problems.

Onto the second leg of the journey today.

More to come…

*Post delayed due to security and other reasons.