Monument Valley
on Tina's Journal (China), 17/Oct/2011 19:06, 34 days ago
Today we visited Monument Valley in Navajo Nation which borders Arizona and Utah. Navajo Nation is governed by Native Americans and is in fact the largest land area assigned to native Americans in the US. Monument Valley is within the nation. When you arrive here the protruding rocks, called Buttes, look very familiar. Many of the American Westerns by John Ford were filmed in this area so it's quite amazing the familiarity of the place.Monument ValleyWe were given a four hour jeep tour of the valley by a lovely Navajo Indian. I think he thought Jo and I were a bit 'different' as we could not at all see the shapes and animals which he kept pointing out to us in the rocks. He spent ages explaining where this Buffalo shaped in the rock face was but we just didn't 'get it'.....until we eventually walked away and then saw it! But to be honest most of the other animals we didn't see at all, yet the  other members of our group seemed to spot them. Very strange!Taken by our arty guideWe covered a good few miles and then at dusk we stopped in the valley for dinner next to a wooden camp fire. After our gorgeous steak tacos served to us by our guide's friends, we were entertained with Navajo songs, music and dancing. It felt so serene in the valley as there was just our small group with the stars brightly lit in the sky. Dusk A Navajo Indian danceIt was a perfect evening and I personally loved the whole feeling in Monument Valley. It's a beautiful place where you can sense the peace and tranquility. I would really like to return.