Monument Valley

Monument Valley is actually a beautiful mesa.  Located at about 5600 feet elevation, it has a very rich history in early American development.  It is a very windy place and the wind is what has carved the magnificent pinnacles and mesas.  The valley was once a plateau 1000 feet high.  The wind has carved out the softer sandstone leaving the harder rock.  The state line of Arizona and Utah passes through Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.  However, it is entirely with the Navajo Nation.  To enter the park you must pay the $6.00 per person Navajo Land Use Fee.  There is a visitor center and a very popular and very expensive motel.  The motel has a commanding view of the Mittens and other formations.  There is a 17 mile drive that you can drive in your personal car into the park.  Be aware the “road” is very rough, dirt, sand, steep, rocky and generally a car destroyer.  It’s best you have a high clearance vehicle.  We have a 4 wheel drive 1 ton truck, but we chose to hire a guide to get the best experience and save my truck.

Our guide was Marie.  She is a native Navajo who had been leading tours for 16 years.  There were about 10 people on our tour.  Another ride in an old pickup modified to carry people.  At least this one had old school bus seats.

We began tour of a Navajo Hogan (Hoe-Gan') hard second syllable.  A Hogan is an eight sided structure made of Juniper logs and covered with mud.  It has a dirt floor and a chimney in the center.  The door always faces east to the rising sun.  A Hogan with a round roof is a “Female” Hogan.  If it has a pointed roof it is a “Male” Hogan.  Although the Hogans are either male or female it does not mean the natives occupy one or the other.  It just means the Hogan is male or female.  Go figure.  The picture of the Navajo spinning yarn for a rug was taken inside the Hogan.  Her name is Lucy and she like gratuities.

After visiting Lucy, we headed into the valley of many formations.  Our guide led us to ancient drawings, dwellings, and movie sites.  Because we had a guide we were able to visit many sites not open to the public.  We visited many old movie sets like John Ford’s Point.  Some of the more famous movies include, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Kit Carson, Fort Apache, The Eiger Sanction, Back to the Future, Billy the Kid, and many others.

The valley was originally inhabited by the Anasazi 1500 years ago.  After the Anasazi left, the Navajo and Hopi moved in and occupy the valley.  Today, the traditional Navajos do not have electricity or running water.

Monument Valley was relatively unknown until the late 1930s.  At the end of the First World War Harry Goulding and his wife “Mike” Goulding came to Monument to live with the Indians.  In the 1924 they established a trading station where the natives could exchange their livestock and handmade goods for other necessities.  The Gouldings loved and respected the Navajos.  They established a hospital, brought in fresh water, and brought tourists.  The Gouldings were instrumental in bringing Hollywood to the valley.  The first movie Stagechoach  was filmed in 1938.  Soon the world became fascinated with Monument Valley.  The Gouldings further developed the valley creating a grocery store, motel, schools, and a campground, to bring more tourists and further enhance life for the Native Americans.  Other than the visitor’s center the only other service available in Monument Valley is at the Goulding complex.

Natural Bridge

John Ford's Point

Ancient Carvings

Sentinel Mesa and Right Mitten