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We continue on heading for Monument Valley (valley of rocks) with the landscape continually changing. We begin to see Buttes and Mesas in the distance. These are the tall sandstone structures of Monument Valley. Now for a geography lesson;
Buttes - tall and thin sandstone structures with a small flat top area. So with more than one spire or fingers. The flat top part is smaller in diameter than the height of the structure.
Mesas - this is the "table top" mountain feature. The length of the table top is bigger than the height of the structure.
We have a rest stop at Page Trading Post where the elevation on the plateau is still at 5000 feet. As we leave Page we enter Navajo Country the home of the Navajo Nation, an autonomous "country" win the USA. Navajo means field/river adjoining a ravine and its area is the largest Native American area, and the a,great autonomous area. Approximately 3000,000 Navajo people live in the nation. You must be at least 1/4 (grandparents) to be recognised as Navajo. The Nation has its own independent government and the people vote very four years for a President. It s nearly voting time and we saw numerous voting signs. As well as their own government they have their own judicial system, law enforcement and schooling. They are also responsible for the road maintenance. Their traditional homes are called Hogans and when. It living in western houses the traditional homes are square for males and octogenarian for women. The door to the Hogans face east to the rising sun. The Navajo people do a little farming, but mostly it is tourism, some mining, particularly uranium which they sell back to the US.
Some of the Buttes are about are up to 1000 ft high and the mesas are huge with their distinguishable flat tops. Eventually we arrive at the town of Kayenta, the closest to Monument Valley and where we will stay for the night. We push on to Monument Valley village, managed by the Navajo people and from where all the tours into the valley leave from.
It is dusty and hectic and after the obligatory toilet stop we board a four wheel drive for our tour. The driver is a Navajo man and he is one of what seems like 50 or so tour operators driving people in to the desert. The track is washed away as they received 2 inches of rain the previous day - one third of their yearly rainfall. The drive points out various buttes which resemble the mittens - a right and left hand with prominent thumbs, an elephant, surrounded by beautiful desert scenery. We arrive at John Ford Point, from where the renowned movie director made many western cowboy movies. Also the area where more recent movies were made - Back to the Future, Close Encounters, and many more. The beauty of this valley is impossible to describe and do justice to. Each turn presents us with new buttes to imagine, mesas towering from the desert floor, ever changing colours as the sun begins to dip. There are numerous native Navajo stalls selling jewellery and offering your picture taken on a horse overlooking the mesas and red desert landscape. We push on into the desert and come across large chasms with their own unique features. We see the "eye of the sun", which is a circular hole in the Mesas roof. Water from the rain presents lovely reflections of the surrounds. We are shown pterographs - native cave paintings going back to the Navajo ancestors about 500AD. These show animals and ceremonies of this ancient and sometimes forgotten people. Onward into the desert to The Big Hogan, huge cave like formation resembling a Navajo home. The sunlight has almost gone as we head back and the changing light on the return trip presents each Mesa and Butte in a different way.
Monument Valley is a serene place with scenery that stops you in your tracks. It would be too easy to just sit there all day. Wonderful......
It is well after sunset, and with driving lights on when we arrive back at the Navajo village, still 30 minutes from our accommodation at Kayenta. We don't arrive until 10pm and then a very late dinner.
We have had a long day, but the beauty of Monument Valley is unforgettable.
- comments
Shane Swanepoel Amazing.