(Don at The Totem Poles)Zion Canyon, UT to Monument Valley, UT/AZ (about 245 miles)
We groggily dragged ourselves out of bed this morning at 7 a.m. to prepare for our trek to The Navajo Tribal Park. Since we were planning on a 2-3 hour tour of Monument Valley we wanted to arrive in plenty of time to accomplish our goal and then drive to Flagstaff, AZ to spend the night. It was an ambitious schedule considering it was a 4.5hr drive to get there. The good news was we had to drive through the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive and this had been on our agenda for yesterday but time did not permit it so we were excited to find that it was a necessary part of our journey to Monument Valley. Also, we learned from yesterday that time was of the essence and we couldn’t afford any long stops so breakfast would consist of coffee from the lodge and honeycrisp apples with Justin’s Organic Almond butter on them. (These come in little foil packets that I took on the plane.) The low fat vegetarian me has to meal plan a little more wisely now. Mr. Russo reluctantly accepted my offer to share since there was no bacon nearby.
Except for the slow moving RVs along the way, we progressed well and had to restrain ourselves from stopping at the many scenic viewpoints.
(Our Navajo Guide, Ernie. OK, his Navajo name is “One Who Laughs While Fleecing Cash From Stupid White People” but that’s too long for me to type every time!)
Prior to my trips I do some extensive research. (What? You don’t count reading, “Travelling the West For Dummies” as research?) Now, you can drive a 17 mile barely there dirt road with your own vehicle and see the stuff all the other tourists see OR you can hire a Navajo stranger seedily sitting out in the parking lot in front of the visitor’s center smoking and playing cards. For an exorbitant amount of money (& yes, they take credit cards) he will load you into his jeep and drive you out to the restricted areas that can only be accessed by members of the Navajo Nation where you will see sights of wonderment and possibly never be heard from again. It was a no-brainer for us. Into the jeep we piled with Ernie. (OK, that was an attempt at a pun, referring to the Pulitzer Prize winning WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle. Google it, you youngsters.)
(Don standing out on John Ford’s Point)
Obviously, I am seldom at a loss for words. Don & I could not come up with any words to describe what we were experiencing and the best we could do was keep uttering, “Wow!” over and over. (Our jaws were literally hurting from dropping so often)
All of the buttes (the ones that stick up) as well as the mesas (the long, flat topped ones) have names that evoke what they are supposed to resemble and it’s pretty dead on. Obviously, many old western films were shot here as the director John Ford loved the place. Easy Rider and Forrest Gump also had sequences shot here.
(This one’s a shout out to my West Virginia Girls. Look closely to see the W V and no, I don’t mean the gang sign WV I’m flashing at you)
(Above Don’s head look for the drawing of a deer and fawn on the rock. This petroglyph dates to 1300ad)
This is The Ear of the Wind. While we were viewing another formation 2 other tour groups caught up to us. The younger tour guides had us lie down on the sloping rock wall and look up at the walls with them. They were pointing out various things the Navajo People see in the formation. The young female guide began to sing a Navajo song. The acoustics provided by the walls of the formation gave an ethereal sound to her song. When she was finished, the young guy guide sang. It was a very surreal moment and my favorite part of the day.
(The girl third from the right is singing)
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