Monument Valley
I have always wanted to visit Monument Valley, but never had the chance. This is in part because the valley is most definitely out of the way, located on the Arizona/Utah border, not far from Four Corners. Everyone has seen images this area; lots of westerns were made here. The stark landscape and iconic red butte rock formations standing dramatically above the plains are recognized world-wide.
Chinle is only an hour and a half from Monument Valley, which by northern Arizona standards is right next door. We were accompanied on our trip by Dr. Madeline Luke, one of Ruth’s medical co-workers, and Oliver, the wonder service dog who sat in Red’s back seat with Ruth.
We drove north to the valley through terrain Ruth refers to as the Indian Ocean. She was referring to the way the low sun comes up over a flat expanse the same way the sun came up on one of her trips at sea in the Indian Ocean off Diego Garcia. We immediately recognized the pun implied by the vast level stretches of Native American reservation land in the southwest; flat with mountains which are analogs to the islands poking their heads above the sea.
Monument Valley is somewhat unusual in several ways. It belongs to the Navajo Nation and is not federal property. Before the National Park system was established scenic places like Niagara Falls were commercialized with so many garish advertisements that even 19th Century sensibilities were offended. However, the Navajo are very sensitive to exploitation of land. They are good caretakers of this spectacular landscape. In a sense, Monument Valley is a negative of the Grand Canyon. Instead of spectacular rock formations cut from the rocks, here we have buttes rising up from a relatively flat plain. The softer sandstone is capped by harder rock layers call Shinarump Conglomerate. The softer sandstone was eroded away from the places without a cap, leaving a wondrous set of rock formations.
The road up to the viewing point is cleverly situated so that a ridge blocks most of the view of the rock formations. There is a $20 fee for vehicles to enter, which is a welcome income stream (probably more like a trickle) to the Navajo people. A complex on the top of the ridge blends seamlessly into the terrain. The buildings house a very nice museum, gift shop, restaurant, and motel complex. They also provide some spectacular view points.
There is a loop road that goes down among the formations. The road is unpaved – it is not really a dirt road – there is not enough dirt down there to qualify as a nice soft dirt road. It is a rock, dust, and rut road. They deliberately leave it unimproved so that traffic will be light. There is a sign warning in serious tones about the condition of the road and strongly discouraging cars from driving on it. But I had a truck; one with a nice high center. Down we went on the road loop around the formations.
Traffic on the seventeen-mile-long loop road was light. The deep ruts and many rocks in the road deterred those without proper vehicles. Many people elected to come to the valley in comfortable buses, then transferring to one of the tour’s open touring trucks which drove people around the route, providing commentary on the features. There is a motel on the rim with what look to be magnificent vistas from the rooms which all face the valley.
People still live in the valley. Navajo like to spread out and if you look for them you can see discreet hooghans and farms off in the distance. Monument Valley is a long way from the somewhat snooty exclusion of anything ‘not natural’ attitude you get in National Parks. Hey, Navajos are natural in this landscape and they have very low impact on the beautiful views.
There are names for many of the formations. Some are obvious like Mitten Buttes which have a separate spire on each side so they look like gigantic mittens. Or Cube Rock which is a gigantic cube, or Hand Rock, or the Totem Poles. Others are a bit more obscure such as the Three Sisters. I get the three part but they do not really look like women unless the middle one is both very short and anorexic. Even from the loop road some of the formations are a goodly distance away, but they are still very impressive.
Although it is not practical to get out and hike the trail, it is easy to stop at the many pull outs and leave your truck for a better look at the many unusual and arresting rock formations; and we did so. I understand that it gets brutally hot here in the summer. We were fortunate to be there on a lovely spring day. There is an expression in aviation: CAVU which means clear air, visibility unlimited which fit. It did seem as though we could see forever.
After leaving Artist’s Point, so named for the many painters who come here to try to capture the light and textures of the valley, we made our way up the loop road and returned to the restaurant. The clear air makes distances hard to estimate.
We enjoyed a fine lunch with splendid views before departing the amazing sights of Monument Valley. On the way home, we stopped off at a nearby Goulding Trading Post museum, the former home of a couple who ran a trading post out in the desert near the valley for decades. The somewhat cheesy buildings had exhibits from the many motion pictures made in this area and the stars, such as John Wayne, who acted in them. It was low tech, old fashioned, and fun.
We took the long way home, going past the hill-top pueblos of the Hopis. They still have still live in villages on three mesas – Mesas One, Two, and Three. We did not go up to the hills, it was time to go home. We got back, after covering a goodly section of northeastern Arizona.
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