Monument Valley, more petroglyphs and Fort Bluff

Monday, October 21
Wow, what a busy day! We started heading out Hwy 191 south toward Monument Valley that lies along the border of Utah and Arizona. Monument Valley lies within the Navajo Nation and is administered by them. They charge a $20 admission per car which is reasonable if they would just use a portion of it to maintain the road through the Monument! It's pretty rough in places. Just be aware that the one-way road around the valley only applies to tourist passenger vehicles. Locals and the tour operators can and do go against the normal flow of traffic! Just so you know.

Alhambra Rock on the way to Monument Valley. Grey rock differs from all the red rocks in the area.

Monument Valley in the distance. Coming up to Mile 13. Why is this important?

The famous spot where Forrest Gump stopped his cross country run!

West Mitten

Merrick Butte. Named after an ex-cavalry soldier and prospector.

East Mitten

The 17 mile road through the monument as seem through a very dirty windshield!

 

Three Sisters

Lots of movies were shot in Monument Valley.

Totem Pole rock on the right.

Spearhead Messa. The rock on the left resembles a spear.

I just saw this view on TV. John Wayne shot several movies here including 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon'.

Cly Butte.

The Thumb rock.

Back at the parking lot we found this homemade RV. Well done!

Historical shelters.

Made with a wood frame and covered with dirt or mud.

Very cozy inside.

One more look from Mile 13!

On the way back we stopped at Sand Island just outside of Bluff to check out the petroglyphs. The sandstone walls along the San Juan River made a natural canvass for the artists 900 - 1000 years ago.

Crossing the San Juan River near the hamlet of Mexican Hat.

The Mexican Hat just outside of .......Mexican Hat!

Interesting petroglyph symbols. Close to a thousand years old.

The lighter areas are graffitti. If you look closely you can see the original carvings in the background.

 

Lots of animal forms in this panel.

It was still mid-afternoon so we stopped at Fort Bluff located in the middle of town. This site is administered by the Mormons and they do a first class presentation of how the town of Bluff was settled by Mormon settlers in 1880. The story of their travel from northern Utah is amazing. Most were 'called' by the Church to take the journey to settle in this area. A trip that was to take six weeks took over six months. They endured terrific hardships. The group earned the name 'Hole in the Wall' group for the narrow crack in the rock wall they passed through to ford the Colorado River in order to continue their journey.

Inside of one of the restored cabins of one of the pioneer families. Their descendants decorate and maintain the cabins using original family artifacts. 

An original cabin covered with a second roof to protect the original structure.

The cabins were made with locally available Cottonwood trees.

The pegs were placed within the logs to prevent the Cottonwood from twisting while it dried out.

Old farm machinery.

Blacksmith shop.

Hollowed out Cottonwood log used as a livestock water trough.

Outdoor kitchen. Some settlers lived in these while a permanent cabin was built.

The Visitor Center. Well done videos and displays.

Water wheel used by settlers.

The crack in the rock wall that was widened to allow a wagon to pass.

That was enough for today, tomorrow (Tuesday) we head to Natural Bridges National Monument via the Moki Dugway. Wait until you see that!

Nice sunset over the RV park.

......and that was Our View From Here!