The 30th Anniversary Tour, 9.19.22 - 10.15.22, Part 5 of 12: Monument Valley
We thought we were all done with the San Juans but on October 1st as we left our campground we were treated to fresh snowfall on the Sneffels Range. We had to pull off at Dallas Divide for a few photos before saying goodbye to Colorado.
Fresh snow on the Sneffels Range (Bridgit pic)!
Dallas Divide with fresh snow
Our mountain phase was now over and we were now heading to the desert for another couple of weeks. Our route took us back around almost to Telluride and then south on 145 over Lizard Head Pass. I was really hoping to see a good closeup view of Lizard Head but the clouds that had dumped fresh snow above ten thousand feet hovered near the pass and Lizard Head was nowhere to be found. We continued down past Cortez but when we passed a sign that said “Welcome to New Mexico” I told Bridgit we weren’t supposed to be in New Mexico. We had missed our turn onto 41 which should have taken us north up into Utah and then down into Arizona. Instead, we took a look on the map, made an adjustment and with hardly any lost time we made our way up to Bluff, Utah and got back on track. The unexpected detour ended up being kinda cool because we got a good look at Shiprock, New Mexico which we wouldn’t have seen if we’d stayed on route. That Four Corners region is interesting. We drove through four states in less than a half hour!
From Bluff the scenery became the spectacular southern Utah desert we have come to love so dearly. In short order we passed by Mexican Hat, over Monument Pass and there we were at Forrest Gump Point. Of course this is the famous spot where Forrest Gump decided he was done running and it was time to go home. The point has become an insanely popular spot to photograph and even though I said I didn’t need to stop there we got sucked into Gumpdom and had to pull over for “the shot”.
Forrest Gump Point
Driving past the buttes we came to a large roundabout. A left turn would take us to the Monument Valley Visitor Center but we took a right and in just a mile or two we arrived at Goulding’s Lodge and Campground. Gouldings is a private Campground just outside the Monument Valley Tribal Park. I had booked a site for Goulding’s many months ago and after studying the map and photos of the campground had requested Site 45. Goulding’s is situated on a hill sandwiched between two big red rock bluffs. Between the bluffs is a great view of the buttes rising up at Monument Valley. By choosing Site 45, we had the end spot and our bedroom window faced straight out through the bluffs to the buttes in the distance.
The view from our bedroom window in the Navibahn. Not too shabby!
After setting up camp we drove the Jeep to the Visitor Center. It was only a nine minute drive from Goulding’s to the center and along the way we crossed into Arizona from Utah. Next to the visitor center is the View Hotel. Each of the rooms faces the valley and every room has its own little balcony so you can watch the sun come up and go down right from your room.
Monument Valley took our breath away. The classic view of the valley with the West Mitten, the East Mitten and Merrick Butte is awe-inspiring right from the edge of the sidewalk next to the visitor center. The buttes were much larger than photos made them look and the wide-angle view of the entire valley was truly a sight to behold. The light was pretty great in the early afternoon when we arrived and I took a bunch of pictures. We hung around until 7PM but the sun went behind a cloud (the story of my life!) so we didn’t get that magic orange glow. The sun was squishing out to the north so on our way back to Goulding’s we had some really nice sunset light beaming up from behind one of the buttes near the campground.
Monument Valley from the visitor center
Rippled sand along the visitor center rim
Sunset near Goulding’s Campground
Because Monument Valley is a tribal park it is all on Navajo land. There is one dirt road called the Scenic Drive that is a seventeen mile lollipop loop. For a fee of eight dollars per person, anyone can drive it from 8AM to 3PM. There are various companies that will drive you to other spots in the valley that the general public has no access to, again for a fee. After researching, I elected to pay extra to go on a sunrise photo tour with Phillips Photography. This would enable me to be at a certain spot that I had seen photos of right as the sun was coming up. This spot is called the Totem Pole and the rocks are not only very picturesque, but there are large rippled bright orange sand dunes at the base of it. The general public can’t get anywhere near this spot from the Scenic Drive so I was excited to get into the lesser traveled parts of Monument Valley.
In the morning I met my Navajo guide, Carl outside the visitor center. Two other photographers joined us. We left at 6AM and in the darkness, Carl drove us down the Scenic Drive for a ways but then turned off onto a rougher, sandier dirt road that eventually put us right in front of the Totem Pole. It was still dark but just starting to get light. Several wild horses came up to near where we were standing as we waited for sunrise which was at 7:18AM. As the sky began to get lighter we could see that thick morning clouds hovered on the horizon. By sunrise, everything was still in shadows and I was doubting my chances of getting anything worthwhile. We hung out there for a long time waiting and watching the clouds and the sun. Carl led us off the road and through the desert to a spot much closer to the Totem Pole. There were the great dunes all around us but it was all in heavy shadow and I was pretty discouraged. Carl is also a photographer. He was still optimistic and he was right because about an hour after sunrise we started to see little breaks in the cloud cover and it looked like maybe the sun might hit one of those breaks. Before long the buttes and bluffs around us began to get some really nice light and I started getting some really nice photos. The rocks were lighting up in a bright orange glow and the sand dunes, which were already bright orange were so brilliant they looked like they were on fire. Bright green sage bushes in the dunes added a really nice contrast to the orange rock and sand. Then much to my relief, the sun began to light up the Totem Pole and its surrounding pillars. Now I was cooking. While it wasn’t as dramatic as it would have been if the sun had come up right on the horizon, it was still very good and I think I came away with some nice images.
All this took until 8:45AM and the tour was only supposed to last until 9AM. Carl was very patient but we finally had to move on. He drove us to the next spot but along the way he stopped for me so I could shoot a particularly brilliant orange set of dunes above a sandy wash with a bright green cottonwood tree in the wash. Our next stop was at a big arch which was really more of a big hole in a rock wall. Carl told me to hike up and climb up onto a specific rock. He knew exactly where he wanted me to stand because when I got there and turned around, a gnarled dead tree with “Y’ shaped branches perfectly framed the hole in the rock. We made one other stop before heading back and the whole tour ended up being an hour longer than advertised. Carl was very helpful both in where to go and with his knowledge of where the sun would be at certain times and his photography tips. I tipped him well and felt I definitely got my money’s worth.
Waiting for the sun
Clouds beginning to break up
Wonderful morning light
Morning in Monument Valley
This is what I came for!
Sand dunes and the Totem Pole
Orange dunes and Cottonwood tree
My favorite image of the Totem Pole
The Hole In The Rock
Once we were back from the photo tour I drove back and fetched my beautiful wife. We went back to Monument Valley and drove the Scenic Drive. Even though I had seen some of it, the entire drive just wowed us both and we loved every minute of the drive. The majesty of these giant pillars of rock just blew us away. There were lots of places to pull off and points of interest. One such spot is called John Ford’s Point because the famous director used Monument Valley for several films including Stagecoach with John Wayne, The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. At this very scenic point, for a fee of course, you can actually sit on a horse right on the point and get your photo taken. Bridgit couldn’t pass up a deal like that so we paid up and I got a great photo of her atop Spirit, the Monument Valley horse.
Below John Ford’s Point
Worth every penny!
I get the impression Monument Valley rarely sees much water. It’s about as dry a place as you’ll come across but as luck would have it, there had been rain the previous night which left a little mud puddle on the side of the Scenic Drive. Of course everyone driving through just drove around it but I had an epiphany, pulled over and hopped out of the Jeep. By lowering my iPhone all the way to the surface of the puddle, I was able to get a wonderful reflection of the East Mitten in the puddle! One man’s puddle is another man’s opportunity I guess!
East Mitten reflection
After our extremely enjoyable drive we headed back to our camp. There was a very short hike to the campground’s own private arch called Goulding’s Arch so I hiked up there to check it out and it was actually a pretty nice arch.
Goulding’s Arch
This was our final night at Monument Valley so after an early dinner we drove back over to watch the sun set from the visitor center. We had even better light than the previous night and it was a really nice way to cap off our visit to such an incredible place.
Monument Valley and the Scenic Drive
The Mittens
Setting sun on Monument Valley
Next stop on the tour will be the Grand Canyon in Part 6!