Attractions and other places we visit.
We drove around the Monument Valley Tribal Park in our truck.
The Navajo seal and statue outside the entrance:
Looking down at some of the monument rocks and road from the visitor center:
It’s a fairly rough dirt road:
Our truck at one of the viewpoints:
At John Ford’s Point, the man on a horse; he sits out there for people to take photos, or people can sit on his horse as a photo op:
Another horse; they seemed to be training it:
Our truck:
While staying at the Monument Valley KOA, we had a one hour horseback ride from D/D MTA Horse Tours, with a Navajo guide, and horses corralled next to the KOA.
The experience was a bit marred by unreliable operators; the booking said to turn up half an hour before our reservation, which we did, but they never turned up, so we gave up in disgust. We contacted them, and arranged again for a couple of days later. Again, they didn’t turn up on time; they eventually arrived half an hour late, after we prompted them via text. Apparently Navajo time is like Hawaii time, very casual. Not impressed.
The Trip Advisor site has some reviews from others who also experienced their unreliability, which ruined their plans. Fortunately, we were there for a week, so could afford to be flexible.
Once they did turn up, the actual horseback ride was a memorable experience. This was our first (and so far only) time riding horses, so we weren’t entirely sure what to expect, or whether or not we’d like it. But we did. We’ll probably try it again in the future.
Here’s part of the horse corral, with monument rocks in the background:
Our guide chose four horses; one for each of us, for himself, and for his young daughter, who also joined us on the ride:
The two horses in the middle were the ones we rode. The left of those two was named Four Socks (if I recall correctly), and was ridden by Jenn. The black one to the right was named Miles, and was ridden by me:
Here’s me mounting the horse, helped by our guide:
Jenn on a horse:
And off we go:
Our Navajo guide talking about the monuments etc:
Sunset:
Some pictures of us taken by our guide:
Onward:
The guide’s daughter led on the way back:
Overall, a great experience. It would have been better if the operators were more reliable, but the ride itself was fun and memorable.
We visited Goosenecks State Park in Utah:
This is a smallish park, overlooking where the San Juan River makes a series of tight turns:
Look closely; what do you see in the water?
Rafting boats:
There are some no-hookup campsites with great views:
On the way back to our coach, we did a quick side trip to the fascinating Mexican Hat rock:
And stopped at Forrest Gump point, an iconic location from the movie:
Standing in the road for a selfie is a popular pastime; we saw lots of people there every time we went past:
We did a Monument Valley tribal tour; a Navajo guided tour in an open truck through Monument Valley tribal park, including parts that are only available via such tours.
Here’s the brochure with the map and description:
Lots of iconic rocks:
Our tour vehicle:
Other tour vehicles:
Our Navajo tour guide:
One of the stops was a hogan:
Navajo hair tie:
Driving over sand:
Big Hogan:
Vertical panorama:
Ear of the Wind:
Suns Eye:
I don’t post about food very often, as I feel it isn’t that interesting. But I make an exception for notable places. One such is Goulding’s Monument Valley Stagecoach Restaurant. It is the dining room of the famous Goulding’s lodge, a historic area of Monument Valley. Harry Goulding and his trading post and lodge were instrumental in popularizing Monument Valley, including bringing it to the attention of Hollywood for many Western films.
Here’s the monumental view from the parking lot:
Goulding’s trading post, now a museum:
Goulding’s restaurant:
The restaurant menu, with some history on the cover:
A very simple menu:
The view from a window booth:
Jenn had Navajo fry bread and beef stew:
And I had a Rez Bah sandwich, also on fry bread:
The Navajo fry bread was super tasty; highly recommended.
A few days later we went back there again. On the way, we encountered some wild dogs running down the road:
The view out the window again:
A different angle, showing the gift shop (which we checked out before dinner):
Since we enjoyed the Navajo fry bread so much the first time, we ordered some as an appetizer:
Best enjoyed with honey and powdered sugar:
Jenn had Salmon (which wasn’t great, apparently):
I had the burger:
Mostly good food, and an excellent view.
Another very nice Utah state park is Goblin Valley State Park. It features thousands of uniquely-shaped “goblins” of eroded sandstone.
The entrance sign, with Wild Horse Butte in the background:
A small visitor center as part of the entrance station:
A relief map of the area:
A paper map. A nice feature of this park is that the Valley of the Goblins is free-range; there are no designated paths, and you are allowed to walk anywhere (but no climbing on the goblins, of course):
Wild Horse Butte:
The Three Sisters:
Part of Valley of the Goblins; some people for scale:
People suck, exhibit #1: naughty people climbing on goblins:
People suck, exhibit #2: we picked up some garbage:
We enjoy visiting state parks in addition to national parks; they are often just as nice, and less busy.
One such was Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab, Utah.
On how the park got its name, quoting from the website:
Dead Horse Point is a peninsula of rock atop sheer sandstone cliffs. The peninsula is connected to the mesa by a narrow strip of land called the neck. There are many stories about how this high promontory of land received its name.
According to one legend, around the turn of the century, the point was used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa top. Cowboys rounded up these horses, herded them across the narrow neck of land and onto the point. The neck, which is only 30-yards-wide, was then fenced off with branches and brush. This created a natural corral surrounded by precipitous cliffs straight down on all sides, affording no escape. Cowboys then chose the horses they wanted and let the culls or broomtails go free. One time, for some unknown reason, horses were left corralled on the waterless point where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River, 2,000 feet below.
A cow by a sign on the way to the park:
More cows:
The Dead Horse Point State Park sign:
A little lending library by the visitor center:
Visitor center:
View:
Info sign:
Ponds:
Colorado River:
Once again we went back to Arches National Park, for one last time (for now). This time, we headed to The Windows, a part we quickly visited on the first day. But this time we did some hiking to the various arches.
The entrance sign again:
Animal sculptures by the visitor center:
Info signs for The Windows:
The Windows from the start of the trail:
Heading towards an arch:
A small arch off to the side:
An interesting tree:
North Window arch:
View through the arch:
Under the arch:
Turret Arch:
South Window Arch:
North and South Window Arches:
Turret Arch:
Wedding couple:
A parking lot sign caught my eye:
A fun closer view of it:
North and South Window Arches:
Double Arch trail:
We went back to Arches National Park the next day, driving straight to the end of the park, to do the Landscape Arch hike. This is a fairly easy 1.9 mile (3.1 km) stroll along a mostly flat gravel and sand path, though there were some short steep hills.
The line of cars to get through the entrance station; we continue to believe that all parks should have an express line for people with park passes; most of the holdup is due to people paying and/or asking questions:
Looking downhill at the entrance station and switchbacks:
Rocks:
The parking area for the Landscape Arch and Devils Garden hikes:
Info on the trail, and also how the fins are formed:
Start of the hike:
A first look at the Landscape Arch; a little hard to see against the backdrop of rocks:
Info:
Closer:
Easier to see with sky behind it:
Another nearby arch:
Jenn taking a picture of me:
The path used to go under the arch, but that is closed since part of it collapsed:
On the way back, we took a half-mile side path to Pine Tree arch:
And the Tunnel arches:
Back at the start of the trail:
Afterwards, we had a picnic dinner at a nice spot:
We were rather hot, but had come prepared with cooling headbands; I kinda look like a hippie:
Finally, some fins:
We had an afternoon timed-entry ticket for Arches National Park, so went there a second time, this time going to the visitor center:
Some animal sculptures outside:
Relief map:
Visitor center:
Rocks:
A short hike to Sand Dune Arch, nestled amongst rock fins:
Arch:
Skyline Arch:
We stopped in a nice picnic area:
And had a picnic dinner at a very secluded table:
On a whim, we decided to head down a dirt road (I had previously checked it on the map):
It led to the Tower Arch trailhead:
We then continued along the road, leaving the park via the “secret” back entrance to the park:
Salt Valley Road, via public BLM land; you could avoid the timed entry requirement by coming in this way, though it is several miles of rough dirt road, so not for the faint of heart or non-4WD vehicles:
Back to the highway:
