Monument Valley
Monument Valley (known as Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii in Navajo) is located in the southern region of the Colorado Plateau and is characterized by a large collection of sandstone buttes. Some of these buttes rise 1,000 feet above the valley floor which is at an elevation between 5,000-6,000 feet. Over millions of years, the erosion forces of water, wind, and ice have carved the landscape that is Monument Valley today.
The largest concentration of picturesque buttes lies at the Utah-Arizona border on Navajo Nation land. The Navajo Nation is the largest Indian reservation, comprising about 16 million acres, about the size of West Virginia. The Monument Valley Tribal Park was established in 1958 to allow tourist to visit this site which is sacred to the Navajo people. The park is comprised of lodging, visitor center, tours, and a 15-mile scenic drive. The scenic drive is an unpaved, dirt road that is quite rough so RVs are prohibited. I elected to take a two-hour Navajo guided tour which included visiting all the scenic drive sites as well as backcountry sites which you can only see with a Navajo guide. It was a memorable experience with some amazing views.
Monument Valley really became a symbol of the American West when famed Hollywood directed John Ford began filming westerns here in the late-1930s. John Wayne gained his early fame starring in such films as Stagecoach (1939) and Fort Apache (1948) all filmed in Monument Valley. Also filmed here was Ford’s My Darling Clementine (1946) starring Henry Fonda which many critics consider one of the best westerns ever made. Many of the landmarks in Monument Valley actually got their anglophone names from the film crews who could not pronounce the Navajo names.
In contemporary times, probably the most popular film to have a famous scene at Monument Valley was Forrest Gump (1994). Following the death of his mother, Forrest played by Tom Hanks embarks on a cross-country run that lasts over three years. In one of the film’s most famous scenes, Forrest stops running on a long, slopping highway overlooking Monument Valley. The location on UT-163 has become known as Forrest Gump Hill and is a popular tourist attraction. I even saw one person dressing in a blue rain poncho and wearing a long beard as Tom Hanks appeared in that scene.
Monument Valley is a special place with a spectacular landscape that has been a highlight of my adventure so far.
Four Corners
Four Corners Monument is the only place in the United States marking the common corner of four states: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. The initial four corners location was marked by US Government surveyor Chandler Robbins in 1868. Today, the Four Corners Monument sits within Navajo Nation land which operates the site. At the center of the monument is a bronze plaque that marks the exact corner of the four states. Surrounding the plaque are the names of the four states in granite as well we stone markers discussing the road to statehood for each of them.
It is actually pretty cool to stand in four states at one time!
