Arizona-Monument Valley-11 May 2011
Photo 1: Sunset in Monument Valley
Photo 2: Storm clouds over Sentinal Mesa
We arrived in Monument Valley from Page and to say the scenery was majestic would be, like so many other descriptions of scenery on this trip, a huge understatement.
We stopped at Gouldings Trading Post which dates back to the early 1920s. The original owner got to enjoy all the publicity of hosting John Wayne’s movie career while he made a number of films there. A small museum on the site of the original trading post was amazing and for a place in the middle of nowhere, was very comfortable. We had a nice lunch and were anxious to get to our hotel in Monument Valley itself.
I knew it was going to be awesome but it far exceeded my expectations. The hotel is built on a cliff overlooking the valley. The hotel’s façade has been painted the same colour as the surrounding cliffs and except for a swimming pool, had every modern amenity including a beautiful gift shop and restaurant. It is owned and operated by Navajos and was extremely clean and well run.
But the view is what brings people to this location! Every balcony faces the valley and most of the hotel is all windows on the east side…even the elevators! We had an hour before we could check in and decided to take the 15 mile loop around the valley floor around some of the monolithic rock formations. The road was awful and we almost stopped a couple of times but trudged through and were so glad we did. As Wayne said, “We are so small!” As the sun changed position, the shadows on the rocks changed colour and it was really mesmerizing.
The clouds moved in before we could enjoy the sunset but it was interesting to see the rain falling in some parts of the valley as well as sun shining in others. I got up this morning for the sunrise, camera in one hand and coffee in the other, and spent most of the time just basking in the scene before me. It is so easy to understand why the natives have such a spiritual connection to this land.
We are heading for Southern Utah and some of the wonderful canyon lands and National Parks that I’ve read about for so long and finally getting to enjoy. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx
We stopped at Gouldings Trading Post which dates back to the early 1920s. The original owner got to enjoy all the publicity of hosting John Wayne’s movie career while he made a number of films there. A small museum on the site of the original trading post was amazing and for a place in the middle of nowhere, was very comfortable. We had a nice lunch and were anxious to get to our hotel in Monument Valley itself.
I knew it was going to be awesome but it far exceeded my expectations. The hotel is built on a cliff overlooking the valley. The hotel’s façade has been painted the same colour as the surrounding cliffs and except for a swimming pool, had every modern amenity including a beautiful gift shop and restaurant. It is owned and operated by Navajos and was extremely clean and well run.
But the view is what brings people to this location! Every balcony faces the valley and most of the hotel is all windows on the east side…even the elevators! We had an hour before we could check in and decided to take the 15 mile loop around the valley floor around some of the monolithic rock formations. The road was awful and we almost stopped a couple of times but trudged through and were so glad we did. As Wayne said, “We are so small!” As the sun changed position, the shadows on the rocks changed colour and it was really mesmerizing.
The clouds moved in before we could enjoy the sunset but it was interesting to see the rain falling in some parts of the valley as well as sun shining in others. I got up this morning for the sunrise, camera in one hand and coffee in the other, and spent most of the time just basking in the scene before me. It is so easy to understand why the natives have such a spiritual connection to this land.
We are heading for Southern Utah and some of the wonderful canyon lands and National Parks that I’ve read about for so long and finally getting to enjoy. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx
posted by Lynne @ 5:12 PM
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