Las Vegas Vacation Diary
Day Ten: Monument Valley
The Hampton Inn served breakfast and then we got into the truck and headed for Monument Valley. Because this is October, there wasn’t any wait to get into the area. We understand that in the summer, there is a long line of cars waiting to gain entry. |
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This is not a National Park, it is part of the Navaho Nation. The formations and the land are sacred to them.
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The Navaho have established a Visitors Centre and a dirt road that winds through the formations. There are established stops and the stops each have a table where the locals sell jewellery. Some of the jewellery is made locally, and some is brought in from other places. All is in keeping with the Navaho and Zuni designs. The Zuni are an indian tribe that have a separate nation within the Navaho Nation. |
Monument Valley was always occupied by the Navaho. The Spanish brought horses and sheep to the New World in 1500. These two animals were adopted by the Native Americans and incorporated into their way of life. The Navaho took the wool from the sheep and began weaving rugs. Their rugs are famous worldwide for their beauty and quality.
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A trader named Goulding came to the Valley in the 1920's and homesteaded a trading post to trade with the Navaho for their rugs and jewellery. Goulding's is the only private property on the Navaho Nation. The rest is owned by the Navaho. Goulding’s has an excellent shop, a small number of motel rooms, a restaurant, a museum, a camping area, an airstrip for small planes and runs a number of tours of Monument Valley. |
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The Goulding’s Shop and the Monument Valley Visitors Centre are good places to buy authentic rugs and jewellery. A rug represents a year’s work, and they do not come cheaply, but they are beautiful works of art.
Having seen the Grand Canyon three times, I have to say that Monument Valley was just as breath taking and awe inspiring. The Valley is flat with a long view, and across the view are planted these huge monoliths of eroded rock. They are grand and they are beautiful to the eye. The colors of the rocks change in sun and shadow. |
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For a picture gallery of the Grand Canyon: Las Vegas Dreaming - Grand Canyon
The trip through the valley on the dirt road is probably best taken in a four-wheel drive or a truck. There are side roads that are closed to the general public, but can be taken in the company of a Native Guide. The basic loop of the Valley took us about 6 hours. We did stop frequently for pictures. Fortunately it is so dry all the water you drink is evaporated through your skin, because there are no toilet facilities on the loop road. |
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For a picture gallery of Monument Valley: Las Vegas Dreaming - Monument Valley
The weather was beautiful. Warm, but not hot. We were riding in an air-conditioned truck, but mostly we just kept the windows down. Every vista was breathtaking.
I bought some jewellery pieces at the stops, nothing expensive. At Goulding’s I bought two locally made pieces, a pair of earrings and a broach. I looked at the rugs, but alas they were out of my league budget-wise.
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We finished the main loop in the afternoon and went back to Kayenta to clean up and change for dinner. We went back to Goulding’s for dinner and visited the museum. As dusk fell, we sat at the old trading post that was built up on the side on a rock formation and looked out over the Valley. We watched it get dark as the sun set behind us. It was serenely beautiful and very peaceful. Once it was dark we drove along the road to get away from the lights and stopped to look at the stars and were rewarded by a shooting star. |
I know this is hard to imagine just from my descriptions, but I’ll bet you have actually seen scenes from Monument Valley. If you have ever watched any old Westerns like “Stage Coach” or “How the West Was Won” you have seen the monumental spires.
On the way back into town we stopped at a local fast food restaurant
that houses the “Windtalker Museum”. Some of the Navaho
men who served as code talkers during World War II came from this
area. Their souvenirs and stories are displayed at the restaurant.
 When you are in
Vegas for a week or two come
check out our
Monument Valley tours or our Grand
Canyon tours. |