Monument Valley

Monument Valley, Utah
 

After leaving Page, Arizona Friday morning we headed to our next destination…Monument Valley which is located just north of the Arizona/Utah border.  After arriving mid-afternoon and seeing it in person I decided to take advantage of the RV campsites which are primitive (no hook-ups) but functional.  You may recognize Monument Valley from numerous westerns over the years as well other movies and the television show “Airwolf”.  

The Cortez in the Monument Valley Campground, what a view!

Surprising that a majority of the visitors were either Chinese or European.

I did a little hiking that day, had to remind myself that we were over a mile up in altitude so it’s not as easy as back home.  Treated myself to a delicious dinner of Green Chile Stew at the View Restaurant.  I finally resolved an issue that had been bothering me since Eastern Oregon.  My baseball hat was just not doing it out here.  So I got me a badass black cowboy hat!!  Watch out Clint Eastwood!!!

Saturday headed north in the Valley of the Gods and then east to the Four Corners Monument where I stood in four states (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona) at once.

Four Corners Monument
 

Standing in four states at once

You won’t find Monument Valley or Four Corner Monument in any of your National Parks brochures as these parks are on Navajo Tribal land and are administered by the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation.  Tourism employs many of the Navajo here.  The surrounding areas are very economically challenging.  You will encounter many people on the roadside selling produce, jewelry or whatever to eke out an existence.

 

Decided to overnight at the Walmart in Farmington, New Mexico where I spotted a throwback from another era to dine at.

My compliments to Chef Bernie