Find Your Own Shower

Our adventures took us next to the Needles District of Canyonlands. We arrived in the park around 6:30 pm and basically had the place to ourselves! I think we saw a total of 3 other cars while driving around, all campers. Needles is named for all the needle-like rock structures seen in the background of this photo. There is also one Anasazi structure still standing and Newspaper Rock (named for all the ancient drawings) is just outside the park. I loved being there at sunset, although the rest of the family thought it was a bit creepy being in a deserted desert area at dusk.




The next morning, we took a slight detour over to Natural Bridges Monument and enjoyed our time there. Then it was time to head out of Utah. This photo shows the road we took with all the switchbacks and the road heading off into the distance to Monument Valley. Surprisingly, I didn't think the ride was too scary; I kept mentioning to the family that "it wasn't as bad as the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway" in Wyoming three years ago. Husband was getting a little annoyed with me (being the driver on the long and twisting road while I kept saying it wasn't so bad). The kids thought I was weird for remembering the name of the other road, so Husband decided to dub this one, "Sergeant Bob's Byway."

This is where the fun starts. There is very little info online or in travel books about Monument Valley. It's a Navajo Tribal Park. Meaning the U.S. government has nothing to do with it and non-Navajo's are considered outsiders. It wasn't on the map we were using and we weren't even sure if it was in Arizona or Utah (still don't know). It wasn't hard to find though, since there is really only one main road in that area of the country. We saw the entrance booth and got in line. Admission was $5/person, so we spent $25 to get in. The beautiful Navajo woman in the booth asked where we were from. When we told her, she said, "Oh good.......it's nice to see some Americans!" Ironic, coming from a Native American, not so ironic considering the entire trip we heard very little English (Europeans seem to love our national parks much more than we do). She handed us a map, said that there was an 'unpaved' 17 mile loop and we were on our way. To say that this was an 'unpaved' road doesn't really do it justice. This was a dirt road with 90 degree slopes and pot holes the size of Rhode Island, filled with water. Husband was not a happy camper, trying to maneuver our rental minivan. We watched as the Ford Focus in front of us kept bottoming out at 5 mph. After about 4/10ths of a mile, Husband said that was enough. See that white RV in the photo? That's about how far we got on the road, until we turned around like all the other people who were not driving jeeps. Basically, all we got to see of Monument Valley was the Western and Eastern Mittens, as you see in the picture. (You probably recognize them from all the Hollywood movies and car commercials made in that area.) The best comment of the trip came from Husband, who said, "The federal government needs to come in and take this over!" To which I responded, "I believe that's the first time anyone has ever said that about the federal government!"

So, we felt a bit screwed over by the whole experience. There was no possible way anyone could drive that road in a normal vehicle. Of course, the Navajo had plenty of tours that they would take you on in their jeeps, but at $100/person, we weren't doing that. It was lunch time, so we decided to eat in 'The View' restaurant in the visitor center. It really did have a beautiful view of the mittens. Afterwards, I visited the women's restroom. Plastered all over the mirrors were 8 1/2 X 11 signs that read, "NO BATHING!" My first thought was, where is Rhonda when I need her?? Rhonda posts hilarious WTF signs on her blog. I'm wondering how many people have actually attempted to take a bath in the Monument Valley Visitor Center restroom sinks??