4/17 Monument Valley Tour

I had been to Monument Valley about five years ago, but had never really gotten down into the valley because that requires taking a tour. So this time, I made sure I signed up for one.  I took the afternoon tour because I was hoping it would be warmer, but unfortunately, this did not prove to be true.  High today was 50 and windy.  Tour was 3.5 hours long and left at 3:45 pm.

First stop was a hogan demonstration. Note that our tour vehicle was basically an open converted flatbed truck.

The outside of the hogan was mud, with an opening on the top to let the smoke out, or in this case, for the chimney of the wood-burning stove inside.

One of the Navajo women showed us how she carded wood, wove cloth, and ground corn.  I was much more interested in the log construction.

And here I am, with my most recent really bad haircut!  Yuck.

 

Throughout the reservation, there were many small well-spaced-out family homes.  Most had corrals for horses and other animals and multiple buildings because they may have houses grown children and their families.

This was another family home grouping. There were two hogans, plus a regular house.  Here is an interesting article about Navajo hogans:  http://navajorug.com/the-navajo-hogan-shelter-and-center-of-their-world/

 

Did I mention that not only was it freezing cold, but the road was extremely bumpy. I tried to take more photos of the road, but it was too difficult to stand up and take photos out of the rear.  And the curtain in this photo was the only one rolled down, so it did not do much good to keep the wind out.

You have probably seen these two "mittens" in advertisements and cowboy movies.

From the bottom of the canyon, you can see The View hotel.  It has a fantastic view, hence its name, and was also designed to blend into the natural scenery.

Another view of one of the mittens.  The rest of the rocks in the next few photos have names, but I cannot remember any of them.

For $5, you could have your photo taken with this young man.

 

The tiny vehicles show off the size of these rocks.

This is an ancient grain storage ruin.

This sheltered cove has water, as evidenced by the trees, so the ancient people grew crops here and stored the excess in the granary, above. The tour guide said there was also water in natural tanks, or depressions in the sandstone, on top of this mountain.

This is a burial hogan from several centuries ago.  Once the body has been placed inside, it is never visited and is left to fall into a ruin. 

For obvious reasons, this rock is called "The Cube."  Does this remind you of the one on the University of Michigan campus?

And a last view of the mittens before getting home to the warmth of my motorhome.