Quite possibly one of the most photographed spots on earth, Monument Valley is a striking testament to the impermanent nature of even the planet's most massive forms.
The isolated mesas and buttes that dramatically jut from the red desert floor are the last little stubs, relatively speaking, of the layers upon layer of rock that used to fill in all the space in between. It took hundreds of millions of years to lay down all those layers, and then 50 million or so to wear all but the remaining formations away to relatively nothing.
On a lighter note, you might expect to see the cartoon roadrunner zipping by with Wile E. Coyote hot on his heels. These formations scattered on either side of the Arizona/Utah border have stood as symbols of the desert and the West for ages, prominently displayed in countless paintings, photographs and films. The bold red shapes piercing the blue sky suggest to many visitors that they know the place, even though they may never have been there before.
A visit to Monument Valley will afford you more than a few snapshots and pretty scenery, however. The Valley is located in the Navajo Nation, is cared for by the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department, and as a landscape is inseparable from what it means to be Navajo. If you want a little taste of Navajo history, culture and contemporary life, there's no better place to start than with a visit to Monument Valley and its surrounding settlements.
The Navajo Nation includes most of the northeast corner of Arizona as well as parts of Utah and New Mexico, and contains 17 million acres. The Navajo Parks and Recreation Department is one of the oldest institutions of the contemporary Navajo Nation, and is charged with preserving the unique and beautiful land within its jurisdiction in accordance with Navajo values and beliefs. The stewardship of the land and the maintenance of values and beliefs aren't separate activities. The land is part of the belief system, one that considers man's relationship with the Earth as a fundamental element of his existence.
There is a 17-mile, suspension-busting dirt road that will eat your rental car alive but will give you the grand tour of the Valley's most famous sights. A more satisfying way to get to know Ts' Bii' Ndzisgaii (the Navajo name for the area) is to take one of the guided jeep, horseback or hiking tours offered at the Park's Visitor Center and a few other locations. A Navajo guide, who can fill you in on the geology of the formations and the cultural history of the area, must accompany any exploration of the Valley off the "Valley Drive" road. Some tours will also introduce you to the ways in which a few people still live in the valley, herding sheep, farming and melding ancient tradition with sometimes relatively few trappings of modernity.
The Visitor Center also has a restaurant, restroom facilities and a small store with basic supplies. While there are no lodging facilities in the Park itself, Mitten View Campground is nearby, with 99 campsites for as little as $10 per night.
