Odometer: 50,903

Time: 9:30

We give Smoky Mountain another try and get quite far today! Only after about 15 Miles when we choose the road leading up into the mountains we get to a impassable mud hole and have to turn around. We take the other road leading towards Lake Powell. It is a long sandy road which ends at the cliffs that offer a gorgeous view of the lake from “the other” side. We watch the weather closely and as the sky starts to cover up again over the mountains we head back as quickly as the road allows us to – Better safe than sorry! We absolutely want to avoid getting caught by the rain and having to sleep in the car in the middle of nowhere, not knowing when the roads would be passible again. Back on the HWY to Page our Jeep behaves weird as if the wheels where not balanced, speeds above 60 mph are very uncomfortable. In Page we give it a proper wash with the high pressure hose; big lumps of clay and mud fall off and the real color of the wheels appears again. Then we get it checked by a specialist. His first question is if we were in the mud and if so this would probably still be the problem. Before dinner Marco lies under the car himself and removes more heaps of mud from underneath, the poor car is completely plastered. We hope this helps – the next test-drive will be tomorrow!

Overnight Stay: Motel 6

Dinner: Stromboli, Italian