Monument Valley

Elaine found a lovely woven rug in a Navajo Market near Monument Valley, and the store owner shared this image of Dorothy Begay, a local weaver who created it out of homespun and dyed yarn from her own sheep. The image of a cornstalk with birds now hangs in our hallway at home.

Looking east into Monument Valley at the end of our tour, the sunset light touches the buttes with orange fire. From left are West Mitten Butte, East Mitten Butte, and Merrick Butte in a classic view from the visitor’s center.

Off-roading through Monument Valley, our guide Harry pointed out this view of the Totem Pole and nearby spires reflected in a small pool. This image was taken with my phone just 6 inches off the surface of the water to capture the distant spires and their mirror image.

Several tropical storms had drenched Monument Valley a couple weeks before our visit, leaving standing pools that acted like mirrors. This shows Sleeping Dragon Mesa and its reflection in the afternoon light.

Harry, our Navajo guide through the valley, took us off-roading to this hard-to-reach arch called the Ear of the Wind. Framing it above a dead tree made for an interesting image.

Our visit to Monument Valley the day before Thanksgiving, one of the first stops was at John Ford’s Point, where that director of classic western films made this view synonymous with The West. For $10 you could sit on the horse and wear a cowboy hat for a keepsake photo.