Monumental Achievements

Flicking through the map before we left Gallup, we noticed that we weren't a million miles away from one of America's most famous natural landmarks. We were in-fact around 220 miles away, but that didn't deter us from driving north toward the Arizona/Utah border, and visiting the rather fantastic Monument Valley, in the heart of the Navajo Reservation.

We arose early from our beds in El Rancho, and headed downtown to Aurelia's Diner, which we had found the previous day. Adam got himself off to a hearty start, with a Rib Eye Steak and two eggs for breakfast. I settled for a English Muffin with the works, and we fiddled with the cool jukebox on the table that blared out Elvis to us as we ate. We climbed into the car a little heavier than when we last got out, and dropped the roof down for the day's journey ahead of us.

The driving would be done away from the 4 & 6 lane Interstates to which we had become acustomed, and also quite unlike the poorly looked-after Route 66. In short, the journey through the Navajo reserve, which took us around three and a half hours, was quite simply one of the most stunning drives we've ever had the pleasure of taking.

As we crossed into Arizona from New Mexico, the landscape - true to form - changed yet again, with a huge forest lining the road for mile after mile. All of a sudden however, this abrubtly stopped, and the land opened up to massive views of desert plains, with strange shaped rock and mountain lining the horizon. Unlike previous days where this new view would perhaps remain constant, and therefore become repetitive, these views adapted and enhanced themselves, as the road wound through and over the massive countryside before us. All these wonderful sights, and we hadn't even reached the landmark toward which we were driving.


As we drove through the town of Kayenta in the north of Arizona, we came across Monument Valley Scenic Road, and realised that we were just 12 short miles away from both the Utah border, and Monument Valley itself. These 12 miles again presented us with some beautiful views from the comfort of our Mustang, but nothing could prepare us for the shear majesty of the rock formations awaiting us at the end, so engrained in the conscience of people around the world, thanks perhaps to John Ford's famous Westerns such as Stagecoach and The Searchers.

The famous 'Mittens' were of obvious appeal to us, having studied many photos of them before we left for the States over two weeks ago. Imagine our delight when we were able to see them 'in the flesh' and take our own images home with us. Unfortunately, the visitor centre nearby is currently going through an overhaul, and a hotel is being built in the adjoining plot of land, so some of the facilities were limited. However, if we ever return in future, to stay in a hotel in the middle of such a view would be a chance not to pass up.There's a 17 mile track that runs around and through the famous sights in Monument Valley, and we weren't about to pass up the opportunity to drive it ourselves, and so we returned to the car and jumped in, eager to get started. Unfortunately, our little red machine got stuck in the thick sand as we tried to make our way out of the car park, leaving us red-faced and in search of a park-ranger to help get us out. After being told that we couldn't be pulled out due to some perculiar regulations, we started digging under the tires, and laying rocks down where we could, in the vain hope that the wheels may get enough traction to enable us to be freed. Thankfully, the hard work paid off, and we escaped unscathed.

So - did that stop us attempting the dirt track around the valley? Did it hell. We braved the track and started off into the park. We got about half a mile in before we realised our mistake. This joyous automobile may look and sound good, but it's a rear-wheel-drive automatic that weighs a bleedin' ton, and as such, is not made for this kind of road. We turned back, and headed for the exit, fearing all the while for the car, and our teeth, which were in danger of being shaken from our mouths. As we finally exited, we took a look in the rear-view mirror and saw the park-ranger from earlier in his SUV. He had obviously followed us to make sure of two things. One - that we were ok, and two - that we were leaving!

Back on the road, and we retraced our steps from earlier back down to the Interstate, and we headed toward the small town of Holbrook, where we were hoping to find an infamous Route 66 motel, made up entirely of Wigwams. However, we got a little side-tracked when we noticed we were coming up on the Petrified Forest. We thought we may be a little late for a jaunt round, until we asked the women on the entrance gate what time it was. Little did we know that Arizona doesn't run on Daylight Savings, so despite being in Mountain Timezone as New Mexico was, we were in actual fact an hour earlier than we thought we were, so we had time to drive through the Forest Park.

It was interesting enough and there were some nice views of the Painted Desert and of some Petrified Wood, but after seeing some of the most wonderous views you will ever come across at Monument Valley, the forest (which was anything but - no trees anymore thanks to years of erosion change) was a bit of a let-down. We spent around an hour driving through, but our cameras had long since run out of battery thanks to our snap-happy ways earlier in the day.

We headed for Holbrook, and the Wigwams. But, we were to be dissapointed again, as there were no vacancies. Such a shame, as the complex is unlike nothing you've ever seen. Would love to have stayed there, but I guess that will have to wait for another day. Perhaps we should do a sequel to this blog? Let me see - Joel and Adam's Even Longer Car Journey? If we do, remind us to take an SUV to Monument Valley - if just for the carpark!


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Now playing: Metallica - Enter Sandman
via FoxyTunes

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM MONUMENT VALLEY HERE

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE PETRIFIED FOREST HERE