Utah and Arizona. “Road Runner, if he catches you, you're through” - A 4x4 Tour of Monument Valley
I’ve driven past Monument Valley a few times without paying the fee required to visit the tribal park. Each time I’ve left with a feeling that I missed an opportunity. I have more free time now, so my wife and I booked a Monument Valley jeep tour during a recent trip through the U.S. Southwest. For the unfamiliar, Monument Valley (aka Oljato-Monument Valley or Tse'Bii'Ndzisgaii) is known for spectacular sandstone buttes and rocky pinnacles that rise to heights of 300 meters above the valley floor. Located on the Utah/Arizona border and about three hours from the Grand Canyon, the valley is sacred to the Navajo and among the most photographed places in the world. For some, it may look familiar as the setting for dozens of movies and television commercials. In part because of its scenic and geological significance, Monument Valley and surrounding lands were (unsuccessfully) recommended by government officials to become a U.S. national park in 1925 and again in 1933.
Speaking geographically, Monument Valley is located within the vast Colorado Plateau that includes portions of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. During the Permian Period (300 to 250 million years ago), the region was covered by a massive inland sea. Millions of years later sedimentary rock was uplifted as the ocean disappeared. Since that time, the plateau has been slowly eroded by wind and water. Surrounded by open space and sand, the valley’s buttes and mesas are detached remnants of the former plateau. Ancestral Pueblo lived in the valley from 1 AD through about 1300. Sometime during the 15th or 16th centuries, Navajo (aka the Diné) arrived in the valley.
Our route took us east on U.S. Highway 160 and then north on U.S. Highway 163. We stopped briefly for photographs of Agatha Peak, located 16 kilometers south of Monument Valley. Rising 460 meters above the surrounding terrain, Agatha is the core of an ancient volcano. A turnoff took us to the entrance to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. Created in 1958 and administered by the Navajo Tribe, the 368 km2 park is not affiliated with the U.S. National Park System.
We paid a modest entrance fee ($8 per person) and parked near the View Hotel. With authentic Navajo décor, the View is perched along the edge of a plateau, providing guests in east facing rooms with panoramic views of a sample of the valley’s scenic features. There are two options for touring the valley. Visitors can take the 27-kilometer loop road known as “The Drive” in their own vehicle. The road is unpaved and recommended only for 4-wheel drive and other higher clearance vehicles (RVs and motorcycles are not permitted). The second option is to arrange for a guided tour. We chose the second option.
At our prearranged time we checked in with our driver and climbed into bench seats that had been added to the bed of a full-sized pickup. Circling around the View Hotel, the dirt road took us to the bottom of the bluff and excellent views of the East and West Mittens and Merrick Butte. Passing Elephant Butte, we stopped at John Ford’s Point near a finger-like formation called the Three Sisters. Until the late 1930s, Monument Valley was a relatively obscure and seldom-visited place. Motion picture director John Ford helped the valley become better known through movies such as Stagecoach (1939) starring John Wayne, and Fort Apache (1948), starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. Ford shot nine movies in the valley between 1939 and 1960. Other movies with scenes filmed there include 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983).
Our journey continued as we rounded Rain God Mesa. Whereas private automobiles are required to turn east on the south side of this mesa, our tour continued south around Thunderbird Mesa and the Sleeping Dragon to Sun’s Eye, a small circular opening in the sandstone. Continuing past Submarine Rock and Ear of the Wind, we made a stop near Yei Bi Chei and Totem Pole. Totem Pole is a rock pillar/spire first climbed in 1957. In the early 1970s it was used for scenes in the movie Eiger Sanction starring Clint Eastwood. Rising 116 meters above the ground, it is the tallest rock spire in the world. Our next stop was Artist’s Point Overlook, located just west of Spearhead Mesa. From Artist’s Point it’s possible to see the Mittens, Merrick Butte, and the distant Colorado Plateau. Prior to our return to the View Hotel, we passed Cly and Camel Buttes. After tipping our driver/guide, we departed on U.S. Highway 163. Sixteen kilometers north is a turnout adjacent to “Forrest Gump Point” where fans of the 1994 movie can pose for photographs with Monument Valley in the background.
If you are interested in learning more about U.S. locations proposed as national parks, please see my article: Proposals, Abolishments, and Changing Standards for U.S. National Parks (© 1991 Phi Alpha Theta, National History Honor Society).