The next morning we awoke and it was my birthday! Just looking outside and around the campsite was breathtaking, with views in all directions of spectacular rock formations. So we were definitely looking forward to the tour we had booked of Monument Valley.
At 11am a local Navajo man picked us up and off we set for a private tour and a fun filled day. First he stopped along the road to explain to us some of the history and stories behind the Indian reservation and the local area. He also told us about some of the formations and the names they had for them, based on their shapes.
There was the bear with the honeypot, the chicken and the horse carriage. He also explained to us about the Merrick and Mitchell buttes which were controversially named after two white men who came in and stole gold and valuables from the Navajo people in the colonial era and went missing when they returned to attempt to do it a second time. Of course when asked the Navajo had no idea what happened to them!
Then it was time to head to the Valley. As soon as we got to the ridge at the visitors centre, there were the iconic views of the three main rock formations, that, if you had seen any Western, Hollywood adventure or West World episode, you would immediately recognise these formations. It really was something to behold. These iconic formations are known as the left and right mittens with Merricks butte off to the side.
After a few pictures we were then told a bit more about the reservation. One interesting thing about it is when the site became a national monument there was a choice offered to the people. If the local Navajo people wished to stay on the land, they were allowed to, except they would have to do so without any electricity or running water.
Some chose to stay, like our guide, however, most chose to leave. The reason as to why they would not have electricity and running water is due to the fact that they wanted to keep the aesthetics natural. The power lines would ruin the view and damage the demand for the site as a movie set. Our guide had found a solution to the problem by making his home 100% powered by solar energy – smart!
It was then time to venture to our next stop. From here we could see the rock formations of The Three Sisters, The Totem Pole and once again the mittens, but this time from a different angle. There was also the option to pay a man on a horse to sit at the edge of the cliff looking like John Wayne from one of his Westerns. We chose not to do this.
It was then time to continue on even further. From this point you could only go with a guide, so it was a lot less crowded. We were shown many different formations, but there were some which stood out more than others. There was the Native Chiefs head, the horses head as well as a couple of natural arch ways called the suns eye and tear drop arch.
We also saw some hieroglyphs from the times before the Navajo people. Lastly our guide took us to a natural amphitheatre and sang us a song for safe travel and a good life. It was all sung in Native Navajo language and was accompanied by traditional drumming. It was a very cool experience.
Once the tour had finished we made the half hour trip to Mexican Hat for some lunch and a beer. We also purchased some beer (which had to covertly be snuck into our room as the reservation we stayed on is a dry zone), so we could have a few celebratory drinks for my birthday. Speaking of which, it was definitely a birthday to remember!
The following morning we awoke bright and early and made our way to Mexican Hat once again for some breakfast. As we drove out of the reserve we pulled over to the side of the road to capture the classic postcard shot looking back down the straight highway to the buttes in the distance.
After fuelling up, we made the journey over some beautiful and winding hills to Natural Bridges National Park. Now when I say winding, I mean winding. It was also very high and not a good place for anything larger than a 4 wheel drive. However, this did not stop some crazy people and their oversized RVs. Insane!! This was a last minute decision, but one we were both glad to have made.
Natural Bridges National Park is 3 rock bridges situated in traditional Hopi Indian land which have been naturally formed over many thousands of years. To see each one you can either view them from up high at a lookout point, do a loop walk which would take about 3 hours or what we did, which was the 800 metre to 1.5km hikes to each bridge.
The first bridge, Sipapu, was quite a treacherous walk, with dodgy ladders over steep cliffs and rather precarious looking steps. However, the view when we got there was totally worth it. It was this big canyon with a massive natural rock bridge across it. It was definitely impressive.
Also incredible was the fact that this bridge was naturally formed by running water. Now when you saw the height of the bridge from the bottom of the canyon floor, it was almost impossible to imagine. It would have to be at least a 40ft gap!
The next bridge, Kachina, was just also cool and was visible after only a little hike. While it was impressive, the best was yet to come. The third bridge, Owachomo, was the thinnest looking one, but the longest and most impressive. It was a very short hike to get to it and once standing underneath it, you couldn’t help but think it was going to snap at any moment. Also, you could see some very small fault lines in it, which added to the worry of it’s almost inevitable collapse. Although according to the geologists, it won't be for a very, very long time!
After soaking in the enormity of the bridges, we eventually got back to the car. I was thankful to have reached the car as I had begun to come down with Adrian’s cold. He’s such a good sharer! Then it was time to make our way to Cortez and Mesa Verde.
Holly.
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