Grand Circle Utah - Monument Valley

 Monument Valley, a Navajo Nation Tribal Park on the Arizona-Utah border, consists of clusters of sandstone buttes on the Colorado Plateau, at about 5-6000 ft. elevation.  It is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation. It has been filmed in many westerns, particularly by director John Ford and for decades, it was what moviegoers imagined as the American Wild West.

My first visit to Monument Valley was in 2001, and it was quite wild then!  Some of you may have heard my recount of our adventure in the park but here is the story for those who haven't.  We arrived at the park after driving through a sandstorm, in itself quite a memorable but terrifying experience - the park was closed.  We had only booked the one night there on our road trip so it was a big disappointment not to be able to get into the park.  As we were about to leave, a man approached us, said he was an off duty guide and offered to take us into the park in his vehicle for a fee.  Desperate, we threw caution to the wind and climbed into his truck - something we would never have done in our normal lives!

Everything went well, we saw the park in semi-darkness and the Navajo guide played the flute for us in the shadow of the buttes against the sunset.  The road was full of potholes (that hasn't changed!) but we were thinking how lucky we were to have this guide willing to take us in after hours.  Then the truck stalled and he said there was something wrong with the truck.  Oh oh!  He got out and came back to ask for my husband's help, it was an axle problem.  My two teens and I held our breaths - is this a scam??  What are we going to do?  What's going to happen?!  

To our relief, they both returned and it seemed that he genuinely needed my husband's hand to get the axle back on track (or whatever the problem was).   We drove back to the entrance safely.  That was my first sunset tour of Monument Valley.

Some 25 years later, the park is modernized, with an electronic entry gate and a beautiful hotel inside the park, tastefully designed to jive with the surroundings.  For the sunset tour, we climbed into an open vehicle - we had to hold on for our dear lives as the driver/guide drove fast over the still pot-holed road.  We saw the park in the golden hour, and were shown its best colours together with some interesting features in the back country that we wouldn't have seen had we not joined the tour.  It was a mad dash to make it to the point to watch the sunset and we almost missed it.

I also joined the sunrise tour the following morning and it was spectacular - getting up at 5am was well worth it.  We were also greatly impressed at how some careful driving by our female driver guide allowed us to enjoy a much smoother ride than the day before.  While we toured mostly the same areas in the park (the same 5 square miles), she was able to show us different features in the back country after watching the sunrise at the Totem Poles.  It seemed that different guides have different stories for the same site.  As expected, the park also looked different under different light and it was worth doing both sunrise and sunset tours.

One of the first stops on the tour was the Elephant Butte, the side profile photo below made the elephant trunk much more obvious

The iconic John Ford's Point and below, he expansive view of the park from there

View of the park from John Ford's Point - Sentinel Mesa in the far left, Merrick Butte on the right

This is the impressive and appropriately named Flying Eagle Butte, also known as Thunderbird.  The dark part of rock is manganese.

This looked like a cave with a skylight - the photo below is a close-up shot that showed the prominent head of the eagle looking out from inside the cave.

Petroglyphs were found in several places in the park.  We would have missed them if it were not pointed out to us.


The lady guide in the morning explained the symbols depicted in this one - I only wish I had recorded what she said!

Cly Butte caught in the golden hour light

The layers of buttes in the park made more photogenic with the golden light before sunset.  Here is a shot from when we were racing towards the point to watch sunset and I was impressed with how my phone camera was able to catch this distant view as the truck was speeding along.

The very iconic Merrick Butte in golden glory

A A majestic looking monument!

We made it to the point to catch the final light of the setting sun on East and West Mitten Buttes

Sunset in the distance

Panorama of the park in what was then the blue hour

A few hours in bed and it's almost sunrise!

East and West Mitten Buttes before sunrise

Merrick Butte with the moon and Venus overhead

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The two mittens and Merrick

As we were late starting because the original driver called in sick, the replacement had to again race to the sunrise point to make sure we don't miss the sunrise.  Even driving quickly, she still slowed down where the road was rough - a much more considerate driver.  We ended up with plenty of time to watch the sunrise behind the Totem Poles.  Here are a few shots covering the sunrise at different times and the remaining glow on the rest of the landscape.

The red turned to orange as the sun came up

The glow on the surrounding landscape

This stunning red is real, not enhanced.  The right side is the Flying Eagle Butte we saw the day before.

We were in this same area the day before but the guide did not point out this interesting feature - see closeup of the rabbit below.  Of course there was another story to go with it.

Panorama of the mesa with the developing arch

The Totem Poles in early morning light

More rounded mesas in this back country area

Back to John Ford's Point - this time a contemporary interpretation of the lone ranger...;-)

This is The View hotel inside the park - built to blend in with the surroundings.  It is a great location - you can actually watch the sunrise from the hotel - every room has a view.  And like a theatre, different prices buy you different views, including obstructed views...

Even the outdoor terraces echoed the buttes' stepped terraces

One last panorama before we say goodbye to a memorable experience and head to our next destination - Page.