Monument Valley: Standing Inside the Postcard
November 12, 2015
Monument Valley, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii
A Weekend in Utah's Red Rock Country
Some places live in your fantasies long before you ever actually arrive. Monument Valley was one of those places for me. For years I'd seen it in westerns, road movies, travel magazines, and postcards. Every time I saw those towering buttes rising from the desert floor, I craved the feeling of standing there myself. So finally, I took off to Utah for a weekend to see red rock country and Monument Valley.
Arizona - Utah Border
As soon as I saw the Utah welcome sign, I felt wild with adventure! I pulled over and took a self-photography shot of course.
I spent the night in Kayenta, Arizona, at the Hampton Inn, knowing that Monument Valley was waiting only a hop and a skip up road the next morning.
At the hotel, a helpful framed map of Monument Valley and the surrounding Navajo Nation hung on the wall, and the view from my room overlooked a large adobe-style fire pit and seating area with distant red rock mesas beyond. I was pretty antsy so I tried on some outfits for no reason at all before finally making myself a nightcap in an attempt to simmer down and get to sleep.
The following day was cold.
Cold enough that most people seemed content to stay inside a little longer because there weren't crowds filling every frame of the valley or loads of people taking photos. It was just me, the desert, and the monuments. For me, the chilly air and standing alone before formations I'd spent years dreaming about felt like a tonic.
And let me tell you something.
Monument Valley is every bit as impressive in person as it is in the movies. If you've ever swooned over it while watching westerns or road films, put it on your list. The scale is difficult to describe until you're standing there yourself. Photographs flatten the landscape. In person, the sandstone monuments rise from the desert earth with a presence that feels otherworldly. It's the kind of place that could make even the biggest motormouth stop talking for a minute.
US-163 between Monument Valley and Mexican Hat
I spent hours traipsing, taking photographs, and soaking in the energy. Eventually it was time to leave, but I wasn't quite finished with these desert lands. I followed the back roads through Mexican Hat and Valley of the Gods. The road winds through a landscape of isolated sandstone towers, valleys, and endless skies. There were long stretches where it felt like I had the entire place to myself again.
The red rock country of southeastern Utah has a way of making you want to round the next bend just to see what's waiting there and you end up having driven for hours. I spent the rest of the day exploring and stopping to inspect whenever something caught my eye.
This journey to Monument Valley was simply about standing in a place that had been calling to me for years.
If You Go
✦ Monument Valley is located within the Navajo Nation.
✦ Winter mornings can be surprisingly cold, even in the desert.
✦ Nearby stops worth exploring include Mexican Hat and Valley of the Gods.
✦ Bring plenty of water and fuel, especially if venturing onto back roads.
