Today we drove into Monument Valley. This magnificent place is controlled by the local Indians….uhhh…Native Americans and we paid the $20 charge to get into the area. The road from here at Goulding’s RV park to the fee collection station for the area is a nice, wide, paved road. There we encountered a grumpy Navajo who took our money, handed us our map and sent us on our way with a heartfelt grunt.
The monuments, mesas and other giant formations of sandstone and limestone are beautiful and quite majestic. The colors are fantastic. Many vistas are here that were used in John Ford movies starring folks like John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Victor McLachlan and Ward Bond. Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and The Searchers were filmed here. I almost expected to see The Duke riding by on a brown horse but instead only saw some horses in corrals that the locals use to tote tourists around this almost magical landscape. Every so often as you drive the loop road accessible to palefaces there are small hooches, some ramadas and a few old travel trailers that house locals who sell Native American items fabricated by local Zuni, Navajo or Hopi artisans. Some also sell cold drinks which is fortunate because it was quite hot today. There are also some private residences here but I didn’t see any evidence of rural electrification so evenings must be dull. The Monument Valley View Hotel and other nearby concessionaires offer many tours to parts of this place inaccessible to loop road traffic that include trips down closed but tortured roads and additionally offer visits to hogans where the suckers can watch Navajo women weave rugs while enjoying the almost furnace-like conditions. They are pretty pricey; prices start around $75 a head for a punishing ride on some thinly-padded seats in the back of a pickup truck. There do not seem to be any discounts for kids, military or the elderly, like me. I suppose I can figure out why the Indians do not offer discounts to the military seeing as the U.S. Cavalry was responsible for the almost complete annihilation of these people in the spirit of manifest destiny or the concept of killing all the folks living on the land miners of the Old West wanted.
After passing the nice fee station, the road immediately turns to dirt in most places with a few short gravel sections. The folks who run the place are apparently unaware of a piece of motorized road-building equipment known as a blade or grader because the dirt road surfaces are lumpier than a teenagers face. It takes more than 2 hours to cover the 17 mile route through the facility’s loop road because proceeding at any more than 10 miles per hour or slower will certainly result in the total destruction of automotive suspension systems. We spotted many fools with low-clearance vehicles that surely heard nasty scraping noises as their cars passed over the enormous potholes, abrupt surface changes and white eye traps. Many potholes were spotted in the pink dust that could easily swallow half of our truck’s 18″ wheels and big tires. Kidney belts might be appropriate for the more challenging sections of the loop because the washboard sections are seemingly designed to shake out pricey dental work.
Regardless of the road conditions, this place offers extraordinary views of the beautiful terrain. We completed the loop after a bit more than two hours and exited the facility for the short drive back to Goulding’s where we took care of some personal business inside the trailer while enjoying the park’s excellent wi-fi. It was a good time to retreat inside because the temperature when we got back from our drive was 105 degrees. At 8:30 this evening it was still 86 degrees with 8% humidity, up from today’s earlier reading of 3%. I am delighted we had the foresight to buy a trailer with two air conditioners, complete water systems, a shower, a toilet, a microwave, an ice maker, a refrigerator and freezer, recliners, shade awnings, tinted windows, a 35,000 BTU furnace and a HDTV. It is wonderful to be able to retreat from this area’s torrid afternoon weather. Remember to drink plenty of water here or you will surely shrivel up like burnt Saran wrap in this weather.
We shot some pictures during today’s loop and you can see them if you click here