Road Trip: The Last Leg

Leaving the Grand Canyon, I decided that I had probably tarried too long to make it home that day. But, I still needed to move quickly. That did not stop me from a quick detour to Navajo National Monument. 

More cliff dwellings!

It is after all, just off the highway and it was such a gorgeous day. Navajo has a very nice paved path that overlooks the fantastic Betatakin ruin inside a natural alcove (two attractions in one). 

Pathway (with snow)

The ruin is on the other side of a 560 ft. deep canyon. The alcove is 52 ft. high and 370 ft. across.

A big settlement

The Park actually has three ruins: Keet Seel, Inscription House and Betatakin. Keet Seel is accessible only by ranger-led hike, which is offered only in the summer. There are also walks to Betatakin in the summer. Inscription House is closed to the public.

The monument is high on the Shonto plateau, overlooking the Tsegi Canyon system, west of Kayenta, Arizona, and on Navajo land. 

Wide view

Betatakin means "House Built on a Ledge" in Navajo. In Hopi, its name is Talastima, or "Place of the Corn Tassel." Betatakin, constructed of sandstone, mud mortar and wood, had about 120 rooms  and one kiva at the time of abandonment. Now, it has only about 80 rooms, due to rock falls inside the alcove. the buildings were constructed between 1272 and 1275, but oddly, occupied only about 20 years. It is suspected that a serious drought drove people away. Maximum population was probably 150 people.

The ruins are in shadow

After leaving Navajo, I continued on to Monument Valley.

I love this place!

Some day, I need to make Monument valley a destination, rather than just driving by because I suspect that the light for photos is much better in the early or late day rather than midday.

Such a magical place

This area of Colorado Plateau just over the Utah border is characterized by vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft. above the valley floor. 

Something cool everywhere you look

The area is on Navajo land and the tourist area is administered by the Navajo Nation. Otherwise I assume that it would be a National Monument or Park.

That's a butte!

Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Director John Ford used the location for many of his best-known cowboy films, and thus, in the words of critic Keith Phipps, "its five square miles have defined what decades of moviegoers think of when they imagine the American West."

Iconic!

After trying to get the ultimate photo, I pressed on toward home. On the way, I saw this great sign in Bluff, Utah. Lest we forget that our nation has ancient buildings -- many as old as the castles and cathedrals of Europe.

I just love this sign!

I was going to stop a Yucca House National Monument in Durango, but arrived after 5:00 p.m. and the discovered that the site is reached via rough farm roads with no signage and no visitor center. Maybe next time I head that way!

Then, I headed toward home, getting reports of weather from Scott. After a week of perfect, clear skies, it figures that the last day would bring rain and snow. Since I had to cross two high passes to get home, I decided to stay in Pagosa springs. Scott and Michael made it safely through Wolf Creek pass, but encountered some treacherous weather in La Vita Pass. The next day was sunny, so even though Wolf Creek was 19 degrees and icy, I made it home safely.

Oh, I mentioned in an earlier post that it is not possible to visit every national monument. I found this out when looking into the Arizona sites. I wanted to visit Hohokam Pima, but found this curt statement on the NPS website:

"The 'Monument' is located on the Gila River Indian Reservation and is under tribal ownership. The Gila River Indian Community has decided not to open the extremely sensitive area to the public. There is no park brochure, passport stamp, picture stamp or other free literature available."

Well, there.

Trip date: March 7-14, 2015