Monument Valley - Hollywood's Western Movie Backdrop

We had heard about Monument Valley, seen pictures and recognized those same pictures in countless Hollywood Westerns.  These are a few of the reasons we put this destination on our itinerary. The first thing you notice when coming into this area is the red dirt and the rock formations.  The second thing is everything is named "Goulding."  These links give you a little historical background on the Goulding family and their contributions to the area and the native Navajo people.  We were able to visit the Goulding Trading Post and Museum - very interesting!

http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/monumentvalley/Gouldings.htm

http://www.gouldings.com/museum/


Stop # 17 (10/9 - 10/11) - Monument Valley, Utah - Goulding's RV Park

 Mark getting us all set up at the Goulding's RV Park -

note the view of the Monument Valley in the distance.

After the rain and hail storm

The large dirt mound on the left is a traditional Navajo "hogan."  There is a stove pipe coming up through the roof to vent the fire.  We noticed no other openings other than the front door.  

There is a 17 mile round trip dirt road that you can drive to see the monuments up close.  We have a stiff suspension with our truck in order to tow our 10,000 pound trailer 1, so going over a bump or hole is really jarring and rough.  We noticed that smaller cars were able to navigate the rough roads much easier than us.  The speed limit was 15 mph, we managed to drive about 7 mph to save wear and tear on our truck and our bodies.

The shot above was smooth compared to most of the road we managed only four miles before we were ready to head back.  There are guided jeep tours you can take for $60 per person, they zipped over the roads easily, while we struggled.  It was still spectacular and we're glad we did it.



After two nights, we're heading out to our next destination but not before washing down the truck and trailer.  Everything was covered with red dirt!  Our next stop will be Flagstaff , AZ...almost home!