MONUMENT VALLEY AND THE 4-CORNERS

This will probably be a short post as words can not describe the beauty of Monument Valley. I have always heard about it beauty and today I got the chance to see it first hand.  After spend in the night at Goulding's Lodge it was time to explore the heart of  Monument Valley.

Monument Valley is actually located on the land owned by the Navajo Nation. It is about 4-miles from Goulding's to the entrance station. At the entrance station I paid my $10 to enter the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. I must say that the road through the park is in dirt and in places very rough. I was in a Ford Focus and in places the road was extremely rough and going was very slow.

At almost every pull out and over look there were Navajo People selling anything from jewelry, moccasins and blankets to Fry Bread and Burritos.

The Three Sisters

This is John Ford's Point which was featured in several Westerns which Ford directed that starred John Wayne, The most prominent of the Westerns filmed from this location was "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon."

John Ford's Point

This View from John Ford's Point is featured in the movie "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon."

There are few places on earth that actually took my breath away, but several places in Monument Valley did just that.  The beauty of this magnificent place is indescribable. This was a bucket list item for me and it exceeded my expectations.

After leaving Monument Valley, I made my way north on Route 163 toward Mexican Hat, Utah. At mile marker 13 I come to Forest Gump Hill. It was at this location in the Movie "Forest Gump," that Forest stopped running after more than 3-years. It is one of the most memorable and recognizable location in any movie.

There were a few other folks stopped here and we all took turns standing in the middle of the road taking photos of each other. We all had to take a few selfies.

FOREST GUMP'S HILL NEAR MEXICAN HAT UTAH

FOREST GUMP'S HILL NEAR MEXICAN HAT UTAH

My Selfie at Forest Gump's Hill

 After my stop at Forest Gump's Hill I made the 90-mile drive to the Four Corners Monument. This is the only place in the United States that is shared by four states; Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. 

Like Monument Valley the site is on Navajo Land and they charge a $5.00 entrance fee. Located all around the monument are little booths where the Navajo are selling blanket and souvenirs. There were a number of people visiting the site and like at Forest Gump's Hill we all took turn taking each others photos at the actual monument.

Me Standing in Four States at once

Me in all Four States.

After finishing up at the Four Corners Monument, I started the 170-mile trek back to Flagstaff where I will spend the night. As I was about Half way back to Flagstaff, it began to rain and as the sun set, mother nature put on quiet a light show with lightning all around me. 

By the time I arrived back in Flagstaff the storms had passed to the east and I checked in to the Sleep Inn. Tomorrow I plan to be up early and spend the entire day at the Grand Canyon.