It’s getting late in the day by the time we are passing through the Navajo Reservation. Tuba City is the first town that, in a few moments, is a distant memory seen in the rearview mirror. The wide-open dusty desert turns those magenta and golden hues that are commonplace up here. Shadows of the mountains and dim outlines of the landscape will soon blur against the darkening sky, but for now, we are being treated to a sunset that is as monumental as the land around us.
Change is dramatic in the few minutes before the sun bids adieu and retires for another night. The colors of the sky rapidly morph from golden warmth to hot pink and burning orange, casting the towers of Monument Valley into stark relief before they shrink into the darkness below the horizon. The stars await their emergence to remind the people of their tiny place in this vast universe.
The ritual of nature over her sacred lands soon leaves our attention for the more tenebrous carnal pleasures taken from the lubricous merriment brought on by music, drink, and stuffing of the gullet at the Mexican Hat Lodge in the aptly named Valley of the Gods here in Mexican Hat, Utah. Couples take to the dance floor, beers are sallied forth for the next round, and another steak is thrown on the grill as visitors continue to wander into this tiny enclave next to the San Juan River.
Blending in with the vibe, Caroline opts for a bottle of Polygamy Porter beer while I cast my vote for the biggest steak on the menu.
My hunk of flesh will sway on the swinging grill over a roaring mesquite fire for the next 20 minutes. Mexican Hat Lodge is the world-famous home of the “Swinging Steak” – probably one of the best-kept secrets of the travel world. The band plays on, more folks find their way to the dance floor and others are yet to show up as the festivities will continue into the middle of the early summer night.
For us, the Dionysian spirit is quickly put to sleep in the lone teepee room of the lodge, happy and contented after the feast for eyes, ears, taste, and spirit.