August 22 – August 25……… Monument Valley, Utah

The RV Park in Grand Junction was an easy in and out.  Our trip to Monument Valley was straight forward and mostly driving through desert.  We drove through Moab where we stayed 4 years ago and recognized many of the places we visited while there such as Arches and Canyon Lands National Parks.  Eventually we arrived at the Goulding RV Park in Monument valley.  We were only going to be at this park for 3 nights and 2 days.  We had booked two tours in advance so we could view the park and get some narration and history of the park rather than figure it out by ourselves.   There were a limited number of places you could drive to in your personnel vehicles however the tours took you to places where public access was restricted.

The RV Park in Grand Junction was an easy in and out.  Our trip to Monument Valley was straight forward and mostly driving through desert.  We drove through Moab where we stayed 4 years ago and recognized many of the places we visited while there such as Arches and Canyon Lands National Parks. 

Eventually we arrived at the Goulding RV Park in Monument valley.  We were only going to be at this park for 3 nights and 2 days.  We had booked two tours in advance so we could view the park and get some narration and history of the park rather than figure it out by ourselves.   There were a limited number of places you could drive to in your personnel vehicles however the tours took you to places where public access was restricted.

It was hot at the park and our first tour was a sunset tour.  We drove through the park which is surprisingly larger than it looks.  We visited a Hogan and watched a Navajo woman spinning yearn, weaving a rug and grinding corn into corn meal for cooking.  The tour guide explained how the weavers get the various colors for their wool and described the basics about building a Hogan, where the logs came from, how it was built and covered with red mud and why the door of every Hogan faces east.

We headed on to the park for a two and a half sunset tour.  The guide explained the various monuments and their names.  John Wayne and John Ford filmed 5 or 6 movies in Monument Valley.   This is where John Wayne really got his start in the movie business eventually becoming a legend with a name synonymous with westerns. 

At the farthest point of our sunset tour we were at a very famous point of rock that overlooked the park and has been featured in several movies and commercials.   There was an opportunity to ride a horse out to the point and have your picture taken on a horse but Peter did not have time to do it.  So we planned to do it the next day.

We went back to the Goulding Lodge and had dinner.  After dinner we got our picture take in front of John Wayne’s cabin which was feature in a couple of his movies.  After that we went a small theater across the parking lot and watched a documentary about the Navajo people and their relationship with the desert and the Goulding’s who ran a trading post there for 40 years. Then we watch a full length film starring John Wayne titled “Tie a Yellow Ribbon.”  John Wayne’s cabin was clearly visible in the movie.  After that we headed to the RV Park to turn in early. 

Our morning Grand Tour was scheduled for three and a half hours. We drove by the Visitor’s Center and guide took us to the “back country.” We viewed many small Navajo family dwellings that looked rundown. The residents seem to eek out a meager living from the desert with no running water, electricity, sewer or communication with the outside world other than the cell phones.  They have to haul their water from far away and it is precious commodity.  Many place still had mud covered Hogan’s and out buildings.  In fact, there are some hogans that are Air-BNBs but that did not appeal to us.  We viewed many amazing monument formations including some large arches and petroglyphs. 

We learned the difference between a male and female Hogan.  It was very hot, sandy and dusty. The road we traveled was rough and bumpy and everyone in the jeep got jostled around quite a bit.  While we were at the famous point Peter did get a chance to get his picture taken on the horse on the point which precluded our need to make a special trip in our truck. 

We spent time looking through the souvenir shop at the hotel in the park and ate dinner at the restaurant.   In conclusion the park was magnificent and impressive in size and diversity. We appreciated the many monuments that are not visible from the road.  We met a couple of families from France and Germany who said they wanted to see Monument Valley because it was part of the scenery featured in the movie Forest Gump.  We got back to the RV Park with some daylight to spare and hooked up the trailer in order to be ready to head out first thing in the morning. 

When we awoke the next morning Peter said, “We are going home.”  It was music to JY’s ears. We were sad that our incredible summer vacation was all but over but we looked forward to the familiarity of our home and getting reacquainted with our stuff.  Not that we suffered while on our four month vacation but we were looking forward to our own bed, shower, bathroom, kitchen, TV, etc. We arrived home about mid afternoon to blistering temperature of 110⁰.  After we parked the trailer we spent the rest of the day in the house.  We planned to empty the food etc. out of the trailer the next morning when it was a little cooler – maybe a cool 105⁰.   But that night we decided to treat ourselves to a “welcome home” meal and went to our favorite restaurant Hillstone.  We invited Dan, our son, Nancy, who house sat for us while we were gone and Jack, another good friend of ours.