On June 24th, James and I took an impromptu drive to explore the Navajo Reservation and painted desert east of the Grand Canyon.

Fortunately, we ended up at Monument Valley.

I had been curious about this location for a long time, spurred by the movie clips below. You’ve seen Monument Valley before…

and this scene from Easy Rider

Heading east out of Tuba City on US 160, we couldn’t help but stop at this unique rock formation. It stuck out like a sore thumb, and later I learned that these rocks are called “The Elephant’s Feet.”

…sort of a teasing precursor to the landscape that lies ahead.

The “toes” formed a cozy place to sit.

This old building just screamed for investigation.

Now at Kayenta, where we turned north on US 163. This town is sort of the gateway to Monument Valley and most of the services here wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the beauty to the north. I dug the “Indian” road sign, and the generic 7-11.

Things start to get really good north of Kayenta.

Monument Valley sits on the Utah-Arizona border, though most of the best parts are technically in Utah.

A turn to the east into the “Navajo Tribal Park” (Like a national park), leads to a parking area with a hotel, gift shop, cafe, and campground – all of which feature views of Merrick Butte and The Mittens.

There’s a 17-mile dirt road that winds down through the valley among the buttes, so off we went, though the day was already growing long.

Don’t miss the next page (This day continued)