Monument Valley Utah has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Director John Ford used the location for a number of his best-known films, and thus, in the words of critc Keith Phipps, "Its five square miles have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West.
The Navajo Nation's Monument Valley Park are experiencing one of the most majestic and most photographed points on earth. This great valley boasts sandstone masterpieces that tower the heights of 400 to 1,000 feet framed by scenic clouds casting shadows that graciously roam the desert floor. The angle of the sun accents these graceful formations, providing scenery that is simply spellbinding. The landscape overwhelms not just by its beauty but also by its size. The fragile pinnacles of rock are surrounded by miles of mesas and buttes, shrubs, trees and windblown sand, all comprising the magnificent colors of the valley. All of this harmoniously combines to make Monument Valley Navoja tribal park a truly wondrous experience.
The View Monument Valley is part of the Navajo Nation reservation, a 640 mile drive from Los Angeles, 175 miles northeast of Flagstaff, Ariz., about 25 miles north of the sleepy town o Kayenta. The valley's most famous mesas, buttes and spires stand within the boundaries of the tribal park. To leave the loop road, you must hire a Navajo guide. You may notice a weather-beaten trailer, perhaps neighbored by a rounded earthen mound. These are private homes and traditional hogans, without electricity or running that house a handful of Navajo families that date back here for generations. Many of them make their living from tourists, but most don't want a paved road inside the park because then too many would come.
In this Mountain Valley, more tourists stay a day or two. Spearhead Mesa had five waterfalls coursing down its face. Sentinel Mesa wore a crown of dark clouds. In the storm, the landscape seemed doubly alive, reds and greens literally saturated, sky riven by lightning, puddles and streams threatening the road. We sprinted for the car and rushed away, scared and thrilled. It was built in 2008 by the Navajo tribe, and every room has a balcony that looks out on a classic panorama.