Monument Valley

The huge, wonderful highlight of Monument Valley was taking a tour into the valley – we used the Navajo Spirit tour company and they were completely awesome, I highly recommend them. It was such a funny mix: the jaw-dropping monuments (and who knew there were SO MANY of them?), the unbelievable howling wind smiting you with dust, the guide playing his granddaughter’s hypnotic Indian flute while we lay back on a rock under a natural arch, arriving to visit a lady in a mud hovel (they are called hogans) for a weaving demo but she was out, petroglyphs and pictographs (and now I know the difference), learning about our guide’s personal history (punished for speaking Navajo in school), laughing at the silly Facebook photo ops. I think the mix of sacred / pragmatic / silly / primitive / modern is probably pretty much how it is on the Navajo nation, or maybe any reservation. It was extremely educational and physically uncomfortable and fantastically satisfying.

The truck was an open-air safari kind of thing pulled along sandy roads by a big tough truck.

You are only allowed into Monument Valley with a Navajo guide, which is part of their stewardship.

We went in the spring to avoid the heat, ad the temperatures were fine for our whole trip - kind of chilly actually, even with the sun. But the wind, oh my heavens. On the day we went to Monument Valley the wind was blasting in record gusts, pelting us with dust and sand. We took every possible measure to shield ourselves from it. The boys had a good thing going with hats, hoodies to hold the hats on, sunglasses, and bandanas; the rest of us used scarves or what have you. It had not occurred to some of us that the cowboy/bandit look could be practical as well as stylish.

Here are a few of the hundreds of incredible monuments. They were left here when seas that used to fill the valley receded; this has happened three times. 

Up close, some of the formations have alcoves and arches and skylights. 

We stopped in one sheltered alcove to hear our guide, Harry, play his granddaughter's flute. Jordan tried it too; it is much like a recorder.

This wall has a bison shape in it. This would be the only bison around here - bison are a Plains thing.

The traditional housing here would be a hogan, made of wood and mud, which are the local materials. Inside, it was such a relief to be out of the wind, we were inclined to perceive them as absolutely fantastic.