Monument Valley

Monument Valley has always been on my mind since I was a kid.  If you have watched an old western movie or two, it was part of the scenery.  It is a place I had to visit while I was on this earth. 

John Ford, the famous movie director, shot dozens of moving pictures here.  The most famous being the John Wayne epic, The Searchers.  It is an incredible location with tall Red Sandstone Buttes that the Navajo call The Valley of the Rocks. This was a must-stop on our trip to California.  We are about a month into the trip.  We are camped in the Navajo Nation at Canyon De Chelly, about 100 miles away from the Valley.  So we're off on an adventure.  We drive through siltstone valleys that the buttes sit on.  It's a desert landscape where the views go on forever.  

Monument Valley is a Navajo National Park.  There is a $10 entrance fee to drive the 17-mile dirt road that winds through the buttes.  The most famous being the West, East Mitten, and Merrick Butte.  Those three buttes form that famous picture of the Valley. 

It seems surreal that we are finally here.  Our first stop is John Ford's Point.  It's a famous scene where John Wayne looks over the Valley searching for his niece, who has been kidnapped by an Indian raiding party.  It's a moving portrait of the Wild West. 

While driving the 17-mile loop, it was a full-on adventure.  The road was crowded with tourists from around the world.  They were on a road that required 4-wheel drive.  The tourist with their low-clearance rental cars were all over the place.   We still had fun driving around the slow-moving traffic. 

After touring Monument Valley, we started our trek back to our camp at Canyon De Chelly.  We stop in Kayenta at the Amigo Cafe.  It was good to get my Fried Bread Taco, which filled up a whole dinner plate.  After a great, long day, we are back at camp with visions of Monument Valley in our dreams.