Monument Valley; It Does Exist!

Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, Art and I each watched our share of westerns on TV; Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West, Wagon Train, and we can’t forget the Lone Ranger (to version with Clayton Moore). Western movies many of which were filmed in Monument Valley, were also popular at that time.

We have seen Monument Valley in more modern movies too, Back to the Future III, Forrest Gump, National Lampoon’s Vacation, and The Lone Ranger (2013). Once you see it you know it every time; it is so very distinctive.

Our First Attempt

About 14 years ago, Art and I decided to take a trip out west through some of the most beautiful US National Parks; Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and Mesa Verde. Included in our plans was a drive through Monument Valley. We were stoked. Finally, we were going to see Monument Valley.

Mid-September arrived and we were off to Las Vegas to begin our journey. The weather was absolutely perfect. Nice warm days and cool nights; day after day, except one… the day we drove through Monument Valley. The clouds were so low they could have touched the ground, and the heavy rain was relentless. It poured during our entire drive through Monument Valley. We never saw a thing. Nothing. Our joke from then on was that Monument Valley didn’t really exist, it was just a made-up place on a Hollywood lot.

Take Two

Fast forward to June, 2018 and we’re driving out to Colorado for a family reunion. (No, the family is not from Colorado, we just thought it would be a great place to gather; it was.) Leaving Ohio early allowed us time to see the sights along the way. However, we didn’t stop as much as we thought we would and arrived in Denver earlier that expected. So we decided rather than staying in Denver for three days, we were going to drive on out to Monument Valley and give it another try.

We headed on out to Moab, Utah, where we stayed the night. Wow, has Moab changed in 14 years! When we were last there, there were very few hotels. Now there’s a great selection.

As fate would have it, we ended up staying at the same hotel we stayed in 14 years ago, the Moab Valley Inn.

The clerk at the hotel told us that there are supposed to be a couple more hotels constructed in town, and she didn’t know where they were going to find the people to staff it. She said that the Wendy’s, which had been in Moab all her life, just closed as they could not find enough employees.

We’re on Our Way!

The next morning we were up at the first glimmer of sunlight, and headed on down the highway to Monument Valley. We passed Hole N” the Rock, which we had seen on our original trip, but after that, it was all new scenery for us.

We, okay I, needed to make a pit stop along the way and stopped at Bluff Fort. It appeared to be fairly new, so I don’t think it is something we would have seen on our previous trip. By the way, very nice, clean bathrooms. There is no charge to enter Fort Bluff, but donations are appreciated.

It Does Exist!

We got back on the road, and then it happened; we started seeing the rock formations. Yes! Monument Valley does exist! On our first drive through Monument Valley, we saw nothing. Not one formation. Not even the outline of a formation. We had absolutely no idea that theses beautiful sandstone formations were around us. Art and I were both stunned at what we were seeing.

We drove all the way down to Kayenta, just inside the northern border of Arizona, then turned around and headed back north on the same road.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

We made a detour into the Navajo Tribal Park, which is where the formations that are almost always featured on the movies and TV shows are located. The cost was $20 per car  to enter the park.

There was a visitors’ center with a nice exhibit on the Native American Code Talkers of WWII, which we found very interesting. You could also take a driving tour of the area and get a close up view of some of the most famous monuments. Since we still had many hours of driving ahead of us that day, the additional tour was out of the question.

The viewing area at the visitors’ center does afford you the iconic view of the sandstone monuments that you see most often in the movies. I did take some beautiful photos, but, the Navajo Tribe asks that you do not use such photos for commercial use without paying a royalty. I respect that and will comply with their rules.

Throughout Monument Valley, everything looks so barren at first glance. As you look around, you see that there is scrub brush everywhere is so many different shades of green; gray green, blue green, pale green. It really possessed a beauty of its own.

Mission Accomplished!

Our goal for that day was to be in Eagle, Colorado, which we reached. All in all, it was 13 hours of driving that day. It was totally worth it to finally see Monument Valley.

You can see more photos. Take a look at my photo journal of our Journey to Monument Valley.

Have you made the trek to Monument Valley? I’d love to hear about your experience!