Hi Ho Silver

By -

Monument Valley, Arizona

When you see the Mittens at Monument Valley, you think of Western Movies. Actors like John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Tom Hanks worked here. Movies such as Stage Coach, the Lone Ranger, Forrest Gump, Easy Rider, How the West was Won were made here.


Monument Valley was under the Gulf of Mexico 570 million years ago. It started it’s life 65 million years ago as the Pacific and North American tetonic plates off the coast of California collided sending shockwaves to the east. Erosion by water, wind and ice has chiseled the rock formations over thousands of years into what they are today.

Showing the road around the buttes


There is a 17-mile valley drive which can be undertaken between 8am and 5pm October to April in winter when sunrise is between and 6am-8.30pm May to September in summer. Sunrise and sunset never occur within these times anytime throughout the year, which makes it very difficult to get a good photograph. We went back to the drive at 10 to 5, so that we would be through the gates before they shut, but they didn't shut them that night as we found out on the way out.

the Mittens


The day we arrived there were 40 mile winds and considering the whole area is fine red sand, it made a very unpleasant experience. The dust storms caused fatal car crashes in other states. The sun is on the Mittens in the afternoon. At sunrise you get a colourful sky, but the Mittens are in silhouette.



You have three main options for camping in an RV. Two are outside the park, so you need to take into consideration the $20 entry fee if you want to do a night then a morning. Or the campground owned by the View Hotel. Dry camping for $41.95 a night for two people (winter rate) which apparently goes up in summer. Way over priced but you are in the park which makes it easier to make multiple trips. On the upside, you get a fantastic view of the Mittens outside the back window and the showers are wonderful. The free wifi didn't reach our trailer and our Verizon was very slow.

This is Navajo land, so while parks passes don't apply, daylight saving time does - which is very important for knowing sunrise and sunset times!

Location: Oljato-Monument Valley, UT, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life on the road: Trip Planning

By -
Image
Being on the road requires planning, I find the following websites and apps helpful. Remember that low altitude places will be hot in summer, high altitude places will be cold in winter! Websites All Stays  - web version of the App. Shows camping, stores, free overnight camping. I use the app version. BLM lands  - shows the Bureau of Land Management areas Campendium  - shows many camping options on a map Campground Photos  - you can sort by state, area. Map or list view. Casino Camping  - list of casinos that allow RV camping Free Campgrounds  - lists by state, campgrounds are listed to nearest town, no map view Free Campsites  - click on a state and it gives you a map with colour coded spots for pay, free etc Public Lands  - map view National Parks  - check for seasonal closures, names of campgrounds National Wildlife and Refuge System  - you can search by state where wildlife refuges. Oh Ranger  - information on parks. I use the app. RoadTrippers - gives you
Read more

Hot Springs in the middle of nowhere

By -
Image
Liard Hot Springs, Summit Lake, BC Canada The girl at the information desk in Fort Nelson suggested that we stay at Summit Lake on Stone Mountain. We got a campsite with a million dollar view, right on the lake and it was stunning. Talking to a couple from Fort St John, they told us they had seen some moose just up the road. So we went to investigate to find our own, but unfortunately we didn’t see any moose. They came for drinks that night; our first Canadian visitors and hopefully we inspired them with some travel stories. They want to travel but just don’t have the confidence, it seems to be a common concern amongst Americans and Canadians.  Summit Lake campground The following day we got up at 6am and went in search of our quest again, it was very foggy so the photos wouldn’t have been great, but still nothing. Later that day we went out again and saw our first Caribou. At first I didn’t know if it was a moose or a Caribou – truth be known, I still don’t really know. It
Read more

The largest iceberg is how many kilometres long?

By -
Image
My first iceberg sighting Day 11 - March 9 2020 The first day of sailing to the Antarctic Peninsula. Rougher seas today that took hold yesterday afternoon. You can’t walk in a straight line as you zig zag down the hallways. Standing in the shower is an unusual experience. Luckily it is narrow, although it doesn’t seem small and there are the rims that hold the soap and shampoo bottles in that you can hold onto if necessary as well as a seat.  We had a number of talks to keep us occupied: Pinipeds of the peninsula (seals), photographing birds in flight and the penguin species we will find on the peninsula. Did you know that birds replace all their feathers once a year. The ones on the wings are done symmetrically so they can keep flying. They showed the first part of the Shackleton movie with Kenneth Branagh but the quality when it was blown up on the screen was awful so I left and watched it when I got home. Shackleton was trying to get to the south pole again. He had tried once before
Read more