A Rock Concert

March 23, 2010 (Tuesday)

Driving from Cortez, CO, to Monument Valley, you follow Hwy 160 south and then head west toward Mexican Hat, Utah.  The contrast between Northern New Mexico on the Navajo reservation and the Navajo reservation of Southern Utah is dramatic.  The one is barren desert with little scenic beauty, the other is a series of incredible, breath-taking landscapes that makes one wonder how any Navajo family would not want to move to Monument Valley and its environs. As you approach Monument Valley, the terrain is a veritable kaleidoscope of colors and changing contours. 

After miles of flat, monotonous desert, you see in the distance a city of rock thrusting itself into the air.  You feel like Dorothy must have felt, waking from the witches' spell to find the Emerald City in the distance. The mesas and rock monoliths continue to change around every bend of the road.  We found ourselves wanting to stop at every turnout to take another picture. Although we had been here just last year, it seemed as though we were seeing it again for the first time. We finally arrived at Gouldings, a popular RV park where we stayed before which is highly rated and for good reason.  You are surrounded by vistas that seem unreal in their scale and magnificence. This was definitely one of God’s most inspired creations. As a result, I’ll ask your pardon for the excessive number of pictures on this blog entry. (There is one of a Black-billed Magpie and one of some prairie dogs.) Can you find Mexican Hat?  How about Sentinel Mesa?