This was supposed to be the second to the last day of the road trip but unbeknownst to me, it turned out to be the last day.

I tried to convince my mom the previous night to allow me to drive but she was adamant that she was feeling better. So early morning, we set off from Los Lunas, New Mexico toward Forrest Gump Point in Monument Valley, Utah. My mom was excited to learn that Route 66 – the Mother Road – used to go through Los Lunas before it was replaced by New Mexico Route 6. This route also serves as a shortcut to Interstate 40, which was the road we needed to get back to Utah.

29 miles into the 33 miles stretch of NM-6, my mom started to feel pain in her inflammatory spot. “Can you drive?” She asked.

I almost said “Of course,” but that would make me sound too eager, so instead, I said, “yes.” We switched places and I drove the remaining 4-and-a-half-hours or about 300 miles to Forrest Gump Point in Monument Valley.

The road felt so desolate after we left Gallup, New Mexico – the last town where we could fill up on food that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. About 20 miles from Gallup, we would be entering Navajo Nation. The last time I entered Navajo Nation was in 2023. My phone went to roaming. I didn’t have international data plan back then. This time, I do have international data plan, so I wasn’t so afraid of being cut off from the world.

Driving in the Navajo Nation, I saw plenty of red rocks scenery and weird formations. Too bad I was driving, I would’ve loved to take some photos of the rock formations. Navajo Nation is definitely another place that I’ll have to re-visit someday.

The photo above is Lake Wheatfield. I didn’t know what the lake was called until I check my timeline in Google Maps. It’s located in the Navajo Nation. I just had to stop and stretch my legs at this lake because I was starting to get hungry and the lake was right by the side of the road. Funnily enough, I didn’t know what time it was. I had been going back and forth between the Arizona and New Mexico border for the last hour or so and each time my phone got reception, the time would change.

When I stopped at Lake Wheatfield, my phone said 9 AM but the clock in the car said 10 AM. Which one was it? I went with 9 AM since I know Arizona doesn’t observe daylight savings but strangely enough, the Navajo Nation does. Hmm…

After a few more hours of driving and a quick refuel in Mexican Hat, Utah, we arrived at the spot in Monument Valley made famous by the 1994 movie. For those who hasn’t seen the movie, spoiler alert, this was the point when he stopped running. Just imagine that view. I can stare at it all day.

We headed into town to have some lunch. It turns out, driving can really build up an appetite. I once again chowed down on supermarket sushi purchased earlier in Gallup while my mom stood grumpily eating her cherries. She’s grumpy because the place I parked didn’t offer any shade but when one has a passenger like my mom, one would just want to park anywhere to end the torture.

The next and final destination of the trip was Gooseneck State Park, located about 20 minutes from Monument Valley. To be honest, I didn’t see a gooseneck. The gooseneck formation can’t really be seen from this height. I had to see the satellite image to really see the gooseneck. It was a quick destination. According to the internet, most people won’t spend more than 30 minutes at this park. We spent around 15 minutes and that was enough.

Our “supposed” hotel for the evening was 20 minutes but as we were heading out of the park, my mom suggested we cancel the hotel and drive the 6 hours home. We ended up calling the hotel and getting 50% of the money back for last minute cancellation notice.

I could’ve driven the entire way home but my mom made me switch in Moab. I can’t say she drove better than me even though she would’ve said so. I felt she drove jerkily, swinging the car from one side to the other. It scared me quite a bit as I was trying to catch some shuteye.

We ended up switching again about 100 miles later and I ended up driving the final 125 miles of the road trip.

Honestly, it felt like a marathon. I have been sleeping for most of the last 2 days, recovering from driving almost 2,500 miles. I saw a lot of places on this trip and collected a lot of places to my “to be visit” list. Overall, it was a great trip.