Monument Valley, Arizona, is another one of those places that I have seen glimpses of all my life. I can remember all of the old black and white John Wayne westerns that were filmed in the valley. It is so much more beautiful in living color!!
This is one of the iconic views looking out across the floor of Monument Valley. . . . and here is another!! LOL . . . and another!!The towers, when viewed individually, are just a singularly impressive! I had to slip one of my Subi in here somewhere. She took the ruts, dust and shocks like a true champ!The Valley is located on the Navajo Reservation and is not a National Park. The Navajo Nation takes very good care of the Valley and maintains the road in a semi-safe state. After driving the Valley loop, I really have to wonder how people driving Mustangs and Camaros determine that their cars are made for this kind of off-road abuse. It is even more fun to be behind them and watch them bottom out a few times.I was amazed that some of thes towers are even standing due to the sheer numbers of cracks and fissures they have. One good earthquake and they would crumble to dust.Since these cliffs and spires are all sandstone . . . they looked like they would be fun climbs, but I would not trust any of them! Some of these towers and spires rise easily hundreds of feet off the valley floor!The desert does get rain and this year it has gotten a lot of rain. The valley is crisscrossed with shallow canyons, that when it rains, become rivers . . . for short periods of time as they flood!This spire is off the beaten path up a very dusty road on the back side of a dilapidated souvenir stand and mule pen. I only found it by following the dust cloud of the French couple in front of me who seemed hell bent on ruining their rental car!I took this photo while standing on the top of my car so I could see out over the valley as well as over the sand dune alongside the road. The previous night’s rain really cleared the moisture from air so I could easily see for miles and miles across the desert!If this scene looks kind of familiar . . . think “Forrest Gump”!! IOn the bottom left edge of the photo, you can see the start of the hill and road that runs down and out across the desert towards the mesas in the distance. This is the hill that Forest Gump and his crows of jogging followers were running up, when Forrest decided to stop running! This is now known officially as “Forrest Gump Hill”. What I refused to photograph were all the tourist standing in the middle of the road doing Forrest Gump poses!!
What is curious about this valley is that it is a living monument, every time it rains, or the ground shakes, maybe even when the wind blows, the valley changes, the mesas modify . . . and periodically a cliff or spire falls. Seeing the valley today means I can come back in a year and see it differently later . . . and I will . . . it is a truly beautiful and amazing place to visit!!
What the Walrus said . . . 