Several years ago, I traveled to Arizona in late January to visit our daughter, which included a preplanned visit to Monument Valley. Monument Valley sits just across the Utah border in northeastern Arizona. For the trip, I reserved a Navajo guide for three days to ensure I could experience all the wonders the Valley has to offer. However, before the tour even began, I severely discredited myself by getting my rental car stuck on a rock, with the doors locked, the motor running, and to top it off, no cell coverage. It is a long, sad tale, but to my everlasting luck, I happened upon a nice young couple who were able to call into Kayenta and find someone who could come out that evening, unlock the car, and, with some effort, get the car off the rock. The next morning, when I met the Navajo guide, I gathered that he had already heard the tale by the sidelong glance he gave me. It was going to be a long three days.
The first couple of days were devoted to the primary elements of Monument Valley, such as the Totem Pole, cliff dwellings, the petroglyphs of Mystery Valley, the Three Mittens, Window Rock, and the general landscape from different directions. The last day was dedicated to the seven-hour trip to Hunts Mesa, which lies south of the entrance to the Navajo Park. The trip to the Mesa is long and arduous, requiring a four-wheeled vehicle, driving through dry stream beds and climbing over boulders. The journey to the top of the Mesa took around two and a half hours, leaving a couple of hours for shooting. When planning these events, one is forced to take what nature provides in terms of weather. I was fortunate in this process, as it was a cloudy day with some nice, filtered sunlight on the sandstone. All in all, it was a successful venture.
