Monument Valley

If you are a fan of western movies, you have seen Monument Valley in the background as some famous cowboy like John Wayne rides a horse into the sunset after saving the day. After visiting Monument Valley, I will tell you it is more spectacular in person than it is on the big screen. Of course, in person you will see a group of average Joes on horseback instead of John Wayne or Clint Eastwood.

Since we had the Jeep, we drove ourselves around the 17 mile loop in the Navajo Tribal Park section of Monument Valley. Some folks were driving themselves in smaller two wheel drive cars. Hopefully they were rentals with good insurance. We thought the road was pretty rough even in 4 wheel drive. If you don't have a high clearance four wheel drive vehicle, there are plenty of Navajo guides with touring vehicles that will take you on the loop. You will probably get more information on the area and its history from a guide than we got from the maps that were given to us at the visitor center.

If you are in the area, you should definitely see Monument Valley. If you are coming from Four Corners Monument, I suggest you take the northern route through Colorado and Utah to get to Monument Valley. The drive to Monument Valley through Utah is as beautiful as Monument Valley itself.