Albuquerque NM – Monument Valley UT Oct 11 – 14, 2018
We said goodbye to the camp roadrunner and headed west as we left Albuquerque traveling on historic Route 66 (which became Hwy 40). The terrain was rugged and rocky, but very scenic with mesas surrounding us. We passed by Mesita, a town in Laguna Navajo Nation Reservation. A sign was posted outside of town stating that no pictures or videos were allowed to be taken.
We arrived in Gallup NM mid afternoon. We did a little shopping – I (Glenda) got some hiking boots. I asked the salesman about snakes – rattlers in particular. He told me not to be concerned, they were probably gone until next summer. But said he would be more concerned about tarantulas. OK, then! So I googled them. They aren’t aggressive or lethal (whew!), but they will bite. Feels like a bee sting. Our hearts ached for the many folks on street corners holding signs asking for money. They seemed to know one another and trade positions with each other. I am naive and not sure about all that, but it just looks sad.
The drive from Gallup to Valley of the Gods in Utah is stunning! We drove through Shiprock NM. It is called Shiprock because there is a rock landmark that juts up out of the desert/prairie floor that looks like the sail of a boat. It is so large that the tip was in the clouds, so we didn’t get a complete picture of it. The Valley of the Gods and surrounding area is unbelievably beautiful. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and people can camp (boon dock) anywhere. We saw a couple of campers, but we had reservations in Monument Valley at Goulding.
The scenery in Monument Valley is “stunning on steroids”. It would take a very long time to tire of the landscape. I think we took a million pictures, but then realized that the beauty could never really be captured – it would be like trying to capture the Mona Lisa while standing at her nose! It is so vast and amazing. We have to pinch ourselves – how blessed we are to be here to enjoy such beauty! What a testimony to the creative imagination of our Creator. From our campsite we can see through the canyon (huge walls of rock on either side of us) to the rock spires coming up off the desert/prairie floor. We walked almost every trail – all leading to different views of the same stunning scenery.
Goulding was originally a trading post started by Harry and Leone (Mike) Goulding in the 1920s. It is nestled in and around a huge mountain formation in the heart of Navajo Nation Indian Reservation almost at the border where Utah meets Arizona. Goulding made agreement with the Navajo people to bring supplies as well as income to their nation. He stood by his word. Goulding has grown to be a small village that has a grocery store, a lodge, a campground, cabins to rent, a gas station and tourist attractions. Navajo employees make up about 98% of the business (people call it the “company”). In the 1930’s Harry spent his last $60 to go to Hollywood to lure movie director John Ford to come to Monument Valley to make movies. Lots of John Wayne movies were shot here. It brought income to the native people too. So we saw lots of John Wayne memorabilia, too.
We visited a Hogan (a dome-like native home made with wood and mud) and the lady there (Angie) gave us a little history lesson. She was busy carding wool she had gotten from a neighbor. Behind her was a rug she was making. Typically it would take over 2 months to make – weaving all by hand (no loom). She told us how the people came to be named “Navajo”. The Dine Nation was at war with the Spanish long ago. They were poor and hungry and took sheep from the Spaniards in order to eat. The Spanish called them Navajo, meaning “Thieves”. “Dine” means “the people”. Today they are still called Navajo.
We have enjoyed the beauty and the history of this area. Now we move onto the Grand Canyon and the Painted Desert.
Let's Do The 180! 