Our next stop was Monument Valley, Utah near the Pueblo Indian
Reservation. The RV Resort we stayed in was in the middle of the area and was the location where the John Wayne’s movie “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon was filmed.
Lots of great amenities, with a good restaurant, indoor pool, hiking area, large gift shop, camping/grocery store, gas/propane, and even a hotel.
The four views from out coach -
The valley and all the mountains were very unique. There have been a number of movies that have been made in the area over the years. Some recent ones you will recognize are Back To the Future, Forest Gump, and The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp.
The view of all the mountains aka monuments were just amazing. We did not take a tour as the cost, to us, was not worth it as you could see just as much by making the drive yourself around the area. We missed the stories of the Navajo tour guides and going into the reservation, but we felt we got what we wanted. As you make the drive there are lots of “pop-up” native Navajo trading/gift centers; we took advantage of stopping at some of them and got lots of history and stories by just talking to them, as they loved to talk about their land.
The drive is 17 miles and all the different monuments have descriptive names to their structures. The names are said to have been given by early settlers and/or have a spiritual meaning to the Navajos. Just to name a few - The East and West Mitten Buttes look like hands; Merrick Butte and Mitchell Mesa are named after two prospectors; Elephant Butte, imagine a gigantic elephant in the southwest desert; The Three Sisters is a formation of Catholic Nuns; Camel Butte a parade of camels; Totem Pole, this spire monument is an example of what erosion does to a butte and the Thumb is a free standing spire.
This was truly an amazing place and wondrous of all God has created for us to enjoy.
In town at the local Burger King is a memorial to the Windtalkers of WWII. For those of you that remember your history this was the Navajos that were in the military that worked in communication using their native tongue. The Japanese has figured out the code the US was using so they were brought in to communicate with troops using their native language – it was a code the Japanese never learned.
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