By Patricia H. Kushlis
I’ve never been a western movie aficionado. Nevertheless, growing up in the West and having a grandfather who had been a sheriff in California’s San Joaquin Valley for over twenty years, I got more than my fill of classic westerns at the local movie theater (Photo: Monument Valley by P. H. Kushlis, April 13, 2009) on Saturday afternoons - not to mention numerous tales of real life in California’s early West at home.
So when I toured Monument Valley in April this year for the first time, the scenery was not unexpected. But it was far more spectacular than I had remembered from the celluloid screen years ago.
A reality-based movie set
Monument Valley, the setting of several of John Ford’s classic cowboys and Indians stagecoach shoot ‘em ups, really does exist. So too do the incredible rock formations and the shapes and colors of their ever changing shadows that creep across the desert expanse as the sun slides from East to West over this northern most part of Arizona with only a small slice across the Utah line.
This is no fake setting manufactured on the back lot of some Hollywood studio.
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
It is an incredible place – a movie set smack-dab in the middle of the Navajo Nation. Monument Valley is the Navajos own and until earlier this year, lodging for visitors was confined to tiny towns at least a few miles drive away.
Now, however, it’s possible to stay at The View Hotel, (Photo: The View Hotel by PHKushlis April 13, 2009)an attractive new lodge run by the Navajo with rooms that overlook the valley. But book ahead, this hotel is being discovered by tour companies that include Monument Valley on grand circle tours of the Southwest. If you’re a day tripper, the lodge also offers meals served complete with panoramic view.
Despite what tour books may caution, the rock formations of Monument Valley are accessible by private car. Although if you arrive in the valley with a large camper or a small rear wheel drive vehicle, I’d seriously look into taking a tour – or hiring a local guide. And despite the Utah address – according to the maps – Monument Valley is mostly in Arizona.
A self-drive road winds among the valley’s gigantic and imaginatively named formations. The Navajos have provided excellent signage and pull outs at major vistas along the drive. We received a map at the valley’s entry booth that clearly showed the route to take. Four wheel or all wheel drive vehicles are strongly recommended. Follow that advice. The road bed is rocky, winding, pot-holed and in desperate need of repair. (Our all-wheel drive Subaru Outback, however, held up just fine.) (Photo: Monument Valley - Elephant Butte by PH Kushlis April 13, 2009)
Plan to spend several hours on the main drive. Start early in the morning. Even in mid-April the sun was incredibly intense. Come equipped with water, sun hats, sun glasses and lather on the sun screen. This is the Southwest desert after all. There are various pull-outs and - especially for a photographer - a plethora of vistas too good to be missed.
It’s no wonder that John Ford found this setting irresistible. It is.
Getting there: From Flagstaff, Arizona (I-40) take US 89 to Tuba City, Arizona then US 160 to Kayenta (We stayed at the Hampton Inn - which was also run by Navajos and it was fine.) then US 163 to Monument Valley.