Monument Valley

To get to Monument Valley pretty much means you have to be headed to Monument Valley because it is it is not near any place else.  The biggest town close to Monument Valley is Kayenta, AZ a bustling enclave of about 5,000 Navajos.  It's 300 miles from Phoenix and 400 from Las Vegas.  The remoteness is part of the draw, well that and the shimmery monoliths that rise up a 1,000 ft out of the desert floor like the Emerald City only more orangey.

The rock formations practically glow in the setting sun, but then again they've been mining uranium out here since the 1940s so maybe that provides the added enhancement to my photos.

No other place where we have been in the Southwest, well for that matter anywhere, looks like this.

Late in the day, right before sunset, the monuments are otherworldly, they cast long, contrasting shadows across the desert floor.  They're inspiring, poetic, iconic and damn difficult to photograph because of those shadows.  Lucky for you guys I bring this handy accessory along on my trips.....

A photographer

Really though, even your iPhone will turn you into Ansel Adams out here.  The perfect shot is everywhere and if you turn your back for 5 minutes when you turn around the light will be totally different.

It looks completely deserted and for the most part it was given that we were here at the end of November which is outside the normal tourist season.  In reality, there were a few tourists here all of them European.  Monument Valley is visited by more Germans, French, Italians and Japanese than Americans.  Go figure.  Maybe all those old westerns directed by John Ford are more popular in Europe than here or maybe they lack empty horizons and open wilderness.  Either way it's kinda sad that they seem to value this part of the US more than we do.

John Wayne slept here and so did we

We stayed at the Goulding's lodge, a couple miles off of Hwy 163 the main road to the valley.  If you don't know who the Gouldings were then just google them.  They came out to the valley in the depths of the great depression and Harry managed to go out to Hollywood and convince the director John Ford to use the valley as a backdrop for one of his westerns.  Ford subsequently shot many films here that ultimately resulted in innumerable European tourists crossing the pond to have their selfies taken with the aforementioned backdrop in the background.

This is Navajo land and like Canyon de Chelly you have two options for seeing the park.  You can hire a Navajo guide or you can take the self-guided tour through the park on a 17 mile loop road.

You'll figure out pretty quickly that this is not a National Park and it lacks the things you've come to expect in a well-visited park like paved roads.   The park consists of 30,000 acres of tribal land and about 40 monuments, buttes and mesas.  But it's the vastness and sunrise to sunset views that will blow you away.  That and the quietness.  You won't hear anyone saying "can you hear me now" because they can't.  No cell phone ringing out here.

The elevation is high here and since it was late in the fall the winds were piercing and cold.  Not much grows out here and what does is gnarly, bristly and twisted.  Like Fred when you can't get the Bambi backed in straight.

All the major monuments have names given by the Navajo, The Mittens, Elephant Butte, Totem Pole, the Thumb, the Sisters.  Somewhat unimaginative for my tastes.

After a long day of winding around the valley floor doing our best John Wayne imitations, we settled into the Bambi, well I did anyway I was cold, and Fred cooked us up a traditional cowboy meal.

Chicken and taters

As the sun began to slide below the horizon and we sat down to dinner and a glass of wine, we suddenly heard a sound.  A sound that made us stop, fork raised mid-way to our mouths because this was a loud buzzing sound that was decidedly not a normal Bambi sound.  Our eyes locked and we stood up quickly pulling out cushions, opening doors, checking the battery, turning switches on and off all to no avail.  Something was making a vibrating sound that was not a sound the Bambi makes when everything is functioning like it's supposed to.  It sounded like......trouble.

As our dinner got cold and our wine remained in it's glass we began to systematically narrow down the source of the vibration.  You would think that in such a small place you could find the source of an annoying sound pretty quickly.  But then again, you probably would not have started out by looking in Fred's toilet kit which is where we eventually located his electric shaver which had somehow turned itself on.  Grrrr.

The next morning I was determined to find the place where we could take the classic highway shot leading into Monument Valley.  Wanna know how to get this shot?

Wake up early and drive north of the park to mile marker 13 on Hwy 163, then walk out into the middle of road and slowly raise your iPhone.  An added benefit is to have your spouse keep an eye out for approaching 18 wheelers.

Two thumbs up for this photo op, way up

There is probably a bottleneck of photographers here in the summer but we could have done cartwheels down the center stripe if we were so inclined.

One more quick run through the park for some iconic photos.

I took one of us smooching but Fred kept making barf sounds so I didn't include it

We finished up our visit with a quick run through the visitor center which has a nice exhibit on the Navajo talkers from WWII.  

Just try communicating that the opposition merchant ship will be here in a minute.

So long Monument Valley

Superstition Mountains

Wanna see my favorite camping spot?  It's very exclusive and you can't camp there but the price is right, food is out of this world delicious and the nearby hiking is superb.

Outside our niece Jenna's house

Danny knows every mile of the Superstitions

We took a five mile hike through the saguaro, perfect weather, perfect hiking companions

Loved this area and these are some bad ass relatives that know how to put some delicious food on the table and kick some wilderness butt. They're some of the coolest people we know and yet they consistently put up with us.  Go figure.

Well, that's that.  We got delayed heading home due to some bad weather so we spent an extra night in Amado, AZ near Madera Canyon then spent our last night at Balmorhea Springs in west Texas.  Short trip but we covered a lot of ground and Monument Valley was definitely a highlight but now it's getting cold and traveling around the country in the Bambi will be less of an option.  Traveling without the Bambi should not be a problem though which is good because......

Next up Panama.