As previously mentioned, we settled in to take photos from our balcony. It took a while to get all my settings right. A lot of it was guess work since it was too dark for my camera to focus on anything. I had to adjust it manually. Some turned out ok, and the moon was at a quarter, so it could have been a bit darker to better show the stars. Even as is, you can make out the milky way in a few of them. 
The following morning, I woke up early because the window curtains didn't really do much to block the sun. I hadn't planned on doing any sunrise photos since we got to bed a bit late and I fully planned on sleeping in. But since I was now up, I poked my head out to see what it looked like outside.
Not too shabby. I snapped a few pictures and attempted (unsuccessfully) to fall back asleep. We had to do a relatively early start anyway since we had almost four hours of driving to catch a flight back to LA early in the afternoon. We were going to get breakfast at the hotel restaurant, but we got mixed messages. They were full, but one lady said we could just get it to-go since it was a buffet. We were then promptly told by a different lady that it was dine-in only.
It's just as well. This place doesn't need any more of my money for very little payoff. Road - closed. Trails - closed. Dinner - bad service. Breakfast - unavailable. As you may know, Nicole and I like to collect ornaments at each of our travel stops. We went to the shop attached to the hotel. As hotel guests, we were given a $20 discount on any Navajo handicrafts. I jokingly said to Nicole, "You know an ornament is going to be like $40 since everyone is getting a coupon." I was wrong. They were $48. Luckily they were 50% off, so we ended up paying the more normal price of $4. Everything in the store was absurdly expensive. I don't think I can do summer traveling for a while. It's like constant price gouging and overcrowding. While the view from The View Hotel was amazing, the rest was kind of meh. For being a new hotel, the rooms managed to feel dated and minimalist. When you're virtually the only thing in town, none of that really matters. People will pay $300 to stay there for lack of other options. It is unfortunate, but I don't foresee any of that changing.
It may all seem like sour grapes, but I like to be a savvy traveler and hate feeling like I've been had. We drove toward Durango, Colorado by way of Four Corners, which (Surprise!) charged us $10 to see a geographically inaccurate monument of the border of the four southwestern states. Yeah, I'm no fun. The family behind us said they had planned on two hours at four corners. How? What could you possibly do? How many cheaply-made arrowheads can you buy? How many Instagram selfies can you take? Hey, at least people are traveling. I am a strong proponent of leaving one's house if you've read my prior entries. But I did notice one thing about the bulk of tourists -- they weren't American. I would say foreign visitors outnumbered Americans by a margin of at least 6 to 1. Primarily Europeans from places like Germany or France, but even a strong contingent of Japanese and sun-fearing Chinese going for hikes through the desert with their umbrellas deployed. I'm not sure what to make of it.
We had an uneventful flight home on American out of Durango, where we had lunch at an outdoor café, but had no time for anything else. We enjoyed the sites we saw, but felt the overall service and hospitality received was, well . . . basic.
United sent me an email after my flight to ask my thoughts on basic economy. I gave them. Avis inquired if I enjoyed my rental car that was both expensive and falling apart. And then Holiday Inn Express in Page, Arizona asked for my thoughts. I did an extensive survey on their website and gave them high marks on the cinnamon rolls (obviously). I never received anything from The View. I guess you don't need feedback when there's no competition. And perhaps that is the biggest lesson on this trip. People are more apt to like you if you can at least act like you care.
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