Day 13 - Monument Valley, today first thing

Today, we head to the Grand Canyon, but the first thing we will do is to go to Monument Valley.  We’ll get there via Rte163 north.  Monument Valley which is in Arizona and Utah is on Navajo lands and to get to the entrance we must first drive into Utah.  As we get close, we see a preview in the distance of buttes and begin the anticipation.

First let me say I have always wanted to go to Monument Valley since watching John Ford westerns.  Also, I wanted to take my own picture of the buttes named the Mittens.  I now have that picture.

We traveled in an open sided vehicle driven by a Navajo woman.  Driving along the dirt road, bumpy as it was, we see the unbelievable vistas open before us.

Buttes with names like the Praying Hands.

And the King or Queen, however you see it, on the throne chair looking at the Castle.

While driving through the park we stopped at a view point where Navajo vendors are selling jewelry.  Here is a rare picture of Carmen and me, together in the same picture, with Monument Valley in the background.  The praying hands are coming out of the top of my head (don’t I look angelic?), the King on his throne over my left shoulder and the Castle further to the pictures right.

Just after Carmen and I got our pictures taken, Fiona’s mom Jean had the Navajo flag in hand ready to charge. 

I took this picture of the West Mitten and the little rise before it.  This is the scene from John Ford’s picture “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon” starring John Wayne and Shirley Temple.  If you ever watch the movie, be certain to pay attention to the first few minutes of the movie and you’ll see this vista.

We continued on to John Ford’s Point for a close up picture of the Three Sisters. 

Here we have the mesa known as the Submarine near John Ford’s Point (on the bottom of the photo and the Three Sisters in the background).

At John Ford’s Point Carmen is standing at an overhang.  No, she would not get closer to the edge and stayed 4-feet away then left after I took the picture.

Other vistas in Monument Valley are no less impressive, including this one of Elephant Butte.

There is even one place said to be the profile of Alfred Hitchcock.  You can see Hitchcock’s profile on the far right side of the picture.

Here are other vista pictures of Monument Valley.

And another.

From the visitor center overlook, the Mittens is in full glory for all to see.  That’s Merrick Butte on the right.

Here are a few more pictures from Monument Valley, beginning with prophet Spire.

Mitchell Mesa named after one of the two prospectors that found Gold and Silver in Monument Valley.  The other Merrick has a Butte name after him, seen a couple pictures above.

As we begin to leave the Park, I get another seemingly closer picture of the Kings Throne and the Castle.

Back on the main road, we can still see mesas rising from the high desert.  Here a corral, in the foreground, is ready for use for the horses we’ve seen on the ranches.