Monument Valley

We’re staying at Goulding’s Campground, which I highly recommend because the sites have trees, the cliff provides shade, and you have a beautiful view of Monument Valley. 

Honeymoon Arch

We did the all-day tour of Mystic Canyon and Monument Valley, a repeat of a tour we did several years ago. I recommend a tour rather than seeing the valley in your own car because you get to see many areas that are not open to the public. We even had the same guide. What was unique about this day was the number of flowers we found in Mystic valley. It had rained a lot in November and March leading to this profusion of flowers. 

Flower in profusion

Here too, we found many Mesa Verde style cliff dwellings, several natural arches, and petroglyphs on the canyon walls. After an excellent hamburger lunch in the shades of the cliff, we went on to Monument Valley. Here we saw the classic buttes that where in many John Ford movies. On the tour you also see several more arches: Big Hogan, Sun’s Eye, and Ear of the Wind.

John Ford Point