The morning that we planned to leave Kayenta we woke to rain.  Heavy rain.   Timing is everything - and since we had stayed ahead of the rain for the rest of the earlier trip, we decided we should best get on the road and go.  So ... we threw our luggage out the window (literally), loaded up the car, (paid our bill) and left.

  According to the Navajo Nation news, some of the areas we drove through were flooded within a few hours - badly enough that they received Federal disaster aid!

  We planned to stop at all the Indian Trading Posts along the way - several of which were marked on our map.  We had a blast doing this.  They range from the stereotypical dusty, crammed full of treasures "general store" to upscale artsy-type stores.  By the time we left Santa Fe, I had accumulated quite a treasure trove of jewelry and pretty rocks acquired along the way (see the picture later!)