The Buttes of Monument ValleyThe East and West Mitten Butte with Merrick Butte to the right.

                                                            The West, East Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte

 In March of 2021, my husband, mother in law and myself traveled across the four corners region of the western United States, specifically the Utah/ Arizona border. That trip brought me right back to childhood memories of watching all those old classic westerns on TV. As a child, I fell in love with the dust and the landscape in those movies. Back in those days much of playtime for me included daydreaming and pretending to ride out west on my stick horse, I would gallop around my Louisiana home and hide behind big oak trees and pretend the tree was a butte or boulder in wait of a bandit. I practiced my roping skills using my play lasso to rope my dog. I was a dreamer and that got me in trouble often. Several times I accidently set our pastures on fire in the winter when lighting a little pile of sticks as if I was camping out on one of the pretend mesas out west. Ah, those memories and the present day trip I was on collided as we stared into the distance at the Valley of the Gods near Mexican Hat, Utah. The sandstone valley lies north of the Monument Valley across the San Juan River. Later, I heard some locals refer to the area as the “mini Monument Valley” with all the monoliths, pinnacles and rock formations in this lesser known area. We spent all afternoon driving the 17 mile loop road through the Valley of the Gods. This area is part of the Bureau of Land Management and permits are not required and there are no fees to drive Valley of the Gods unlike Monument Valley. The loop road offered views that brought to life the old west and offered wonderful photography opportunities.

Valley of the Gods, near Mexican Hat, Utah

                                                                             Valley of the Gods

      In the evenings we spent the night at the Desert Rose Resort in Bluff Utah. We rented a cozy cabin for the weekend. I highly recommend the Desert Rose for lodging if needing a place to rest your head or for a base camp for your Monument Valley adventure. The friendliness of the locals made us feel right at home.

     The next morning we loaded up our gear and drove into the Monument Valley Tribal Park for a sunrise tour. The tour company we chose was the Dineh Bekeyah Tours with a Navajo guide named Harry Nez. Our day was magical as we were driven to areas within the park only accessible to the Navajo nation. Next we climbed in the saddle of some mustangs belonging to the Roy Black tour company and our Navajo guide “Peterson” led us on a trail ride of a lifetime. We were entertained with “Peterson” singing songs in his native Navajo language while pointing out rock formations resembling eagles, thunderbirds, bears and such. The fine red sands provided soft ground for the horses as they carried us into narrow canyons and out into the wide open vistas. These mustangs were built for life there in Monument Valley. The highlight of the horseback riding tour, most certainly for me, was riding through a small band of wild mustangs. The herd stallion stood proudly watching us, as we carefully passed amongst the mares without incident.

 Sunrise in Monument Valley

     Touring the valley by a 4X4 vehicle was great, but it didn’t compare to traveling by horseback on the back of a mustang! I was there to live out a childhood dream of riding through a place where the director, John Ford directed many of the westerns I watched as a kid. I was John Wayne for a couple of hours. 

 My mother in law Beth, my husband Lindsay and me riding mustangs in Monument Valley

                                                                  Outside the John Wayne Museum at Goulding's Lodge right outside the Tribal Park entrance

 

 West Mitten Butte in the golden hour sunlight as seen from the Visitors Center overlook

 

                                                                                 The red sands

Before departing Monument Valley, we stopped off at John Ford’s point for some panoramic photos and later the location of a scene from the Forest Gump movie, where Tom Hanks ran on the road with Monument Valley in the background. It was there that I photographed a sly Navajo dog waiting for tourists to stop for photos. I soon learned the reason, as tourists tossed snacks to that smart pup!

                                          The location of a scene from the Forest Gump movie with Monument Valley in the background

                             The small band of the wild mustangs we rode past on the trail ride in Monument Valley

 

       Finally, I would like to mention a few fun facts I learned from my tour guides about the Navajo culture;

 The word "yá'át'ééh" pronounced ( yah-ah-t-ay) means "hello" in Navajo.

The Navajo people are very superstitious so there is a long list of “don’ts to keep their people safe from harm like not pointing at a rainbow or throwing rocks into the wind. Don’t look at clouds that move slowly or rivers that move rapidly and never stare at the moon. Watch out for tricksters and the night creatures. Don’t whistle at night.

There are no Teepees, the Navajo people lived in hogans. 

                                                                  Navajo Hogan ( Modern )

 

The Navajo Code talkers from WWII are recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal.

The Navajos love to joke and are credited with making up the first mother-in-law jokes.

The Navajo elders traditionally did not have calendars or clocks because their perception of time is different. It ebbs and flows with nature, daylight, moonlight and with the seasons.

The Navajo people called themselves Dine’ which means “the people”.