Heading to Arizona

We started the day with a wonderful hike in Mesa Verde to an trail with amazing views and overlooks. It was a wonderful way to say good-bye to this place. We took the dogs with us and they enjoyed the exercise as well. I was a little leary of bears as there had been sightings, but none were to be found...thank goodness. We packed the RV and drove an hour to Four Corners, where you can stand in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona all at the same time! Bought a few souvenirs from some local Navajo Indians. Heading Southwest, we stumbled upon Canyon de Chelly which is on an Indian Reservation maintained by the National Parks. It is an active canyon and the Navajo Indians still farm on the floor of the canyon. There were MANY peddlers trying to sell their jewelry and souvenirs. Although the canyon itself was beautiful, the area was run down and reminded me of a third world country. We also stumbled upon two stray dogs that hang out in the visitor parking lot looking for handouts. I fed them and watered them and reported them to the authorities. They said they don't do anything about it and the dogs will be fine. It broke my heart to leave them.....I also found it strange, that cows and horses wander the streets and highways too! It was a strange experience and we were ready to move on. We continued SW to the Petrified Forest National Park. It is a 28 mile drive through the remains of a once lush land 225 million years ago! It also encompasses part of the Painted Desert. We enjoyed an amazing sunset fall below the canyon which ended our day. We are spending the night in a KOA campground in Holbrook, Arizona about 100 miles SE of Flagstaff. We will head to Sedona in the morning!!