Here we are: my mom, Rémi and I, flabbergasted and proud in front of the emblematic landscapes of the Far West in Monument Valley. We know them, but it’s the very first time we see them with our own eyes. Immersion in the country of Indians, cowboys & Lucky Luke and westerns.
Tuesday, October 4th, 2022
Valley of the Gods is a 27 kilometers scenic road... or rather a trail! In the Jeep, Rémi rushes forward on the rocky track. Then he remembers that my mom and I are laboriously following in the rental car, a small Toyota Corolla. We drive slowly and carefully, far behind the dust left behing by the Jeep. We don't want to break anything!
The trail winds through the sandstone valley, among beautiful, high and red rock formations: buttes, mesas, towers and mushroom rocks. We concentrate on the road without forgetting to admire the landscape. And what a landscape! We are amazed and we stop every few meters to take pictures.
The Toyota is good enough and follows the Jeep in the most difficult passages. Nevertheless, the ground clearance is quite low and the lower body frame hits the ground several times. The river beds are the most difficult obstacles to go through. Towards the end of the road, we approach the most delicate part of the trail.
Rémi gets out of the Jeep to assist me. But again, the rut is too deep and the car too low. The front bumper sinks once more into the sand. Rémi comes to check: "Well... First, Nathalie should get out of the car". We laugh hysterically 😂😂 Feigning outrage, my mom gets out of the car. After some delicate maneuvers, we manage to cross the rut without damage!
Around noon, we park on the side of the trail to picnic. We enjoy lunch in front of a magnificent landscape, in the middle of the Valley of the Gods. Wow! 😎 How lucky we are to be here, facing these exceptional landscapes! The more beautiful the landscape is, the more we realize it.
After three hours of trail, we reach unharmed the main road. JP had a blast and our rental car comes out without any damage. Everything is perfect. For a last view of the Valley of the Gods, we take some height. After a few hairpin bends, we reach the top of the canyon! Spendid!
We are finally on our way to Monument Valley! But there are so many things to see in this part of Utah that we stop a lot: we go to Gooseneck Park to admire the meanders of the San Juan River.
We also stop to take a picture of Mexican Hat, a rock with a very particular aspect!
And finally, at the end of the afternoon, we reach it. After a curve on the road we find ourselves in front the famous landscape: Monument Valley. What a joy to see this landscape with our own eyes, after having seen it so much in photos and on TV. Obviously, we stop at the famous Forrest Gump Point to immortalize this magical moment.
We save the visit of Monument Valley for tomorrow. Tonight, we camp in the garden of a Bed and Breakfast. We can use the bathroom (shower!), which is nice, but what is nicer is that we also enjoy a breathtaking view on Monument Valley! We cook our evening meal while admiring the sunset. Beautiful. We don't have such a beautiful spot every night!
Wednesday, October 5th
After the sunset comes the sunrise! However, in front of Monument Valley, this spectacle of Nature has a very different taste. What's more, we don't even need to wake up at dawn or walk: we admire the sunrise directly from the tent. So nice!
And because the day started so well, we cook pancakes for breakfast! With such a view, they are even better than usual 😋
While JP takes some rest on a parking lot near the city, we go to Monument Valley with the rental car. It's a Navajo Indians reserve. The entrance fee is $8 per person. A 24 kilometers trail takes us inside the reserve and its numerous viewpoints. Some buttes are sacred for the Navajo. Others have inherited animal names: Elephant Butte, Camel Butte. We sometimes need a bit of imagination to see them!
We also stop at John Ford Viewpoint. We don't have a horse to take the iconic photo of the film, but... no need of it! Each of us has its own style 😅
We loved every minute in Monument Valley. We are happy and grateful to have seen these famous and beautiful landscapes. I am even more happy to have been able to share this moment with my mom! 😘 But it's now time to keep going South. We still have a lot more to discover! Starting with Antelope Canyon!
3 commentaires
C’est vraiment irréel de lire ces commentaires, de voir ces photos, et de se dire “non mais j’y étais, quelle chance ! Quelle aventure !”. Merci. 😘 💕
Nathalie a eu la gentillesse de mec transmettre une parie de votre voyage !
Quelle aventure ! Que c’est beau et bien écrit dans la narration de vos émotions .
On va partager les échanges avec Nathalie; et nous raconterons nos voyages respectifs avec nos enfants : Mélanie et sa famille vivent au Cambodge depuis 7 ans et nous ont amenés en Papouasie , chez les bajaus de mer , à Sumatra etc .. et cette année , Anais et sa petite famille ont pris une année sabbatique et ont commencé leur périple par l’Afrique avec une Toyota aménagée comme le vôtre ; super les jeunes . Profitez ( vous pouvez suivre la grosse marmotte sur Facebook ou instangram pour Anais, pour Mélanie c’est sur FB mais en mode privé)
Bon périple
Denise Madaule -Garrigues
Merci beaucoup d’être passée par ici Denise ! Je vais aller suivre les aventures d’Anais en Afrique ! Peut-être que ça nous inspirera notre prochaine destination d’ici quelques années 😁