Scampering Up Rock Arches

We saw Monument Valley as part of a full-day tour arranged by our hotel, Goulding's Lodge. It was an off-roading fantasy come to life -- trust me, if you want to heave up and down sand dunes seeing sights you can't from the main roads, this tour is for you!

The experience as a whole gets an A+, but our laconic Navajo tour guide left a little to be desired. When I asked him how all the big mesas were formed, he paused a minute before answering, "... Nature formed them." Wonderful, thank you!

One cool thing about him, though, was that he let us climb up the many rock arches in Mystery Valley, the perhaps lesser-known part of Monument Valley we drove around in the morning. You can bet Park Services would not be allowing that kind of behavior!