After leaving the Painted Desert, we began our journey northward. Next stop: Monument Valley, a Navajo Tribal Park on the border of Arizona and Utah. This place is home to some spectacular rock formations, very different from Painted Desert. We stayed with Celia and Steven, a Navajo couple with a home just outside the Tribal Park, for a couple days.

The second day of our stay we toured the park with Shawn Holiday, a tour leader with Mitten View Tours.

We didn’t understand the significance of the “Mitten View” name until we began the tour and spent some time viewing the Mittens formation that has become a symbol of this park. The two mesas have eroded spires that look like (very slender) thumbs on a pair of mittens.

Moving further into the park, we encountered this formation, known as the Three Sisters. Or, as “W” for “Welcome”!

Monument Valley has been used as a setting for more movies than probably any location, for many decades. Famous movie personalities such as John Ford and John Wayne have locations named for them in the park.

Here we are on John Ford Point, standing on the edge of an outcropping admiring the surrounding scenery.

There are so many formations in this park that look like something else.

Caves abound in the area too. Here is one that was used for shelter by the early Anasazi.

As we made our way further into the park we came to a couple of really large caves that were more like amphitheaters. Gracie experimented with the echo that her barking produced in there, until we had to bring her out.

Near these caves was a wall absolutely covered in a wonderful mural of petroglyphs.

Toward the end of our tour, we came to a formation known as the North Window. It creates a frame around a beautiful distant scene.

Of course it was also a good subject for photographic humor.

Monument Valley is another not-to-be-missed experience as you travel through the desert in Arizona. Of course, the Grand Canyon is the star attraction in the state, and it is a breathtaking. Don’t miss it! But also don’t pass up these lesser-known but unique natural wonders along the way.

After we finished our tour of the park with Shawn, he dropped us off at Celia’s. She prepared us a meal of Navajo tacos, which are made with Navajo fry bread in place of tortillas. Delicious! And then we got some sleep in preparation for our trip to Glen Canyon the next day.