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Monument Valley - 2001
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Karen wanted to see Monument Valley so we decided to include it on our trip. After all, what could I say - I wanted to include Mount Rushmore which was 1000 miles out of our way. We really didn't know what it was all about or how exactly we would connect from it to get to Vegas. All Karen knew was that the John Wayne dusters were filmed there and all I could think of was advertisements with jeeps on the top of huge cliffs. Other than that we knew absolutely nothing about Monument Valley.
San Juan County Mileage Calculator |
I don't really know what I expected when we included Monument Valley on our route, but my first sighting of it was a feeling I will never forget. As we approached Monument Pass on highway 163 we stopped the car several times to take pictures. We never could truly capture the awe we felt.
There is only one main road through Monument Valley. The stretch approaching the Arizona/Utah border from the north gives the most famous image of the valley, a long straight empty road across flat desert heading toward hugh stark red cliffs on the horizon. The highway cuts through the mesas at Monument Pass. |
Highway 163 approaching Monument Pass
The Mittens |
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Milage to Monument Valley
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| Cameron, Arizona |
134 |
Page, Arizona |
137 |
| Chinle, Arizona |
150 |
Phoenix, Arizona |
326 |
| Farmington, New Mexico |
169 |
Shiprock, New Mexico |
142 |
| Flagstaff, Arizona |
187 |
Tuba City, Arizone |
112 |
| Gallup, New Mexico |
233 |
Tucson, Arizona |
443 |
| Kayenta, Arizona |
23 |
Window Rock, Arizona |
196 |
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Goulding Lodge
Goulding Lodge is in the heart of Monument Valley. The backyard to this lodge is a towering red wall that protects the buildings. It looks like pieces of it could crumble at any moment and crush what lies beneath. A museum is housed in the original Trading Post and home of Harry and 'Mike" Goulding. Mr. and Mrs. Goulding made lifelong friends of the Navajo people.
Harry invited movie director John Ford to Monument Valley to view the landscape and the rest is movie making history. Parts of the original set from "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" are on display and the John Wayne cabin is still intact. There is a museum of movie making memorabilia and indian artifacts that can compete with any national museum. Monument Valley is still used today for movie and commercial filming.
Over the years, Monument Valley has been the setting for more Western movies than any other site in the United States. Many movies have footage in Monument Valley, including, just to name a few Thelma & Louise, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Easy Rider, Back to the Future III, Forrest Gump, and Mission Impossible.
We were unable to spend a lot of time in the Valley but resolved to return and explore - as I put it "up close and personal". It was starting to look like we needed several more years of traveling together just to accomplish the "plans" we made on this first trip. |
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Monument Valley - 2002
Our second trip through Monument Valley was just as spectacular as the first. Every angle of the sun displays a different colour. We stopped at Goulding Lodge hoping to get a room but had to continue to Kayenta as the inn was full. We stayed long enough to have supper and tour the museum and John Wayne cabin. |
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Director John Ford's 1939 film Stagecoach, starring John Wayne, has had an enduring influence in making the Valley famous. After that first experience, Ford returned nine times to shoot Westerns — even when the films were not set in Arizona or Utah. A popular lookout point is named in his honor as "John Ford Point." It was used by Ford in a scene from The Searchers where an American Indian village is attacked. |
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Monument Valley - 2003
The Mittens |
| We still have it on our agenda to take the time to tour the valley but not this year. We stopped briefly at Monument Valley to eat and wander around. Karen was still not feeling 100% but managed to enjoy the meal. We toured through the museum and gift shop where I bought the video "The Duke and The General", a 1971 documentary tribute to John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. Then we were off to Highway 261 and Valley of the Gods. |
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Monument Valley - 2006
We stopped once again at Goulding Lodge in Monument Valley to have our supper.
We went into the gift shop and toured around John Wayne's cabin before heading out. We were planning to stop for the night further down the road at Mexican Hat or Bluff.
And, of course, we just had to see Valley of the Gods and Hwy 261. It was starting to feel like home. |
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