Monument Valley
From Page, we headed off into the Navajo Indian reservation that covers most of the northeast corner of Arizona. Monument Valley is the site of huge sandstone buttes, spires and mesas and is probably one of the most photographed and recognized places in the country. Just watch TV for a while and you're bound to run across a commercial or movie that was filmed here.
We had reservations at a lodge complex just across the Utah border called Gouldings, which is pretty much the cultural center of Monument Valley. Originally a trading post, it has continually grown over the years to include a large motel, restaurant, gift and craft store, gas station, airfield, laundry and campground. The lodge also provides guided tours of the Navajo-run Monument Valley Tribal Park, taking visitors into parts of the park that are not on the self-guided driving tour. We planned our stay at Gouldings on this night for a reason - there was a full moon tonight, and Gouldings was running a special moonrise tour of the park.
Moonrise over a formation called the Ye Bei Che.
Once the sun was down and the moon was up, we headed back to Gouldings. The only problem was that the restaurant closed at 9, and we got back at 9:15. We had a fine meal of ham sandwiches and potato chips (which still beat the alleged steak we had the night before.)
The lodge at Gouldings is laid out in such a way that all of the rooms face the rock formations of the park. Sunrise over the park is worth getting up at 5 in the morning for. This is not a place to sleep in.
Once the sun was up, we cleared out of Gouldings and headed into the park.
This is another famous shot of Monument Valley, taken along (ok, on) the main road leading to the park.
Didn't your mother ever tell you to not play in the road?
Next...Onward to the boonies of Utah
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