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After the Grand Canyon - one might be disapointed with the next stop - but no we were not. When we started planning this trip I bought a huge map of WEST USA and put red stickers on all the places I wanted to go ... then we got real about the distances and time factor and Suzanne said she wanted to go to Grand Canyon and Monument Valley and so we said anything else would be a bonus....well we have had lots of bonuses already.
So everyone has probably seen Monument Valley in the movies John Ford westerns like Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Searchers were all filmed here as well as Thelma and Louise...so you think you have an idea of what it will be like but everytime we come across some place here we are astonished at the scale of it........ the landscapes are just enormous - so we were driving along and came round a bend and saw these monumental buttes and mesas in this red rocky landscape and I just couldn't stop saying "oh my god- look at that - unbelievable !!" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And its not just over a few miles -
Gouldings Campsite (4)
Time for beer. We are trying out the local brews.there is a scenic road of about 20 miles - think driving from home in Eastbourne to Brighton ...and thats not all of it - some of it is inaccessible to us as this is on Navajo Tribal land. We had a great RV campsite at Gouldings lodge which is pretty much the only place you can stay in Monument Valley -imagine sitting at the picnic table with a beer and looking at these views. BLISS!! WE arrived in sunshine - still not able to light a campfire - no fire pits - Tracie says we will have a campfire even if we have to burn the wood at the side of the road !!
WE had booked onto a tour with a Navajo guide for the next morning - woke up and ooops it was rainy and dull and chilly. On with the layers and the fleece since we were in an open jeep - it was a bit blowy. ( Note to Susan G from Oz your headband you knitted for me has been a godsend in these situations!!) The benefit of going with the guide was that he could take us to sites that non -
Tracie makes the famous eggy bread.
Thanks to DL gym for the HP sauce packets!! native Americans usually are not allowed. So in spite of the weather - which was changing all the time from sunny to dull - we had a great trip ( we couldnt have taken the RV on that road anyway - unpaved and rough.)
So here are the photos .. enjoy the wonders of Monument Valley.
Love xx
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Gordon&Lindsay
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Fantastic stuff Lynne. Expecting to see John Wayne appearance at any moment. Enjoy! x