Friday, June 30, 2006

Monument Valley

Since we had a Navajo guide for our day long tour we got the chance to go into some not so frequently visited areas. This included many old Anasazi sites with the pueblos hidden in sheltered cliffs. At one site there were a lot of pottery shards just laying around on the ground. Madam Monk being the amateur archeologist was beside herself. These pots were made and used by the Anasazi nearly a ten centuries ago and here they were laying right out in plain site. It says something about the type of people that take these tours in that they understand that removing an artifact from its place destroys a lot of it's value. It was obvious a lot of people had rightly resisted the temptation to take a piece or two home.

This is the most famous Monument Valley view. It is called John Ford's point as the famous director thought this was the most scenic view in the park. In case you are not aware Monument Valley was a favorite location for Ford to shoot his westerns with John Wayne. Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and several others were shot here. If you look real close you can see a Navajo on is pony out on the near point. For a buck he will let you have your picture taken sitting on the horse.

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