Day 14 - Kayenta to Tuba City

Another early, and cold, morning as we set out for a 3.5 hour tour of Monument Valley. I was not expecting the thoroughness of the tour, with our Navajo guide taking the time to explain his beliefs, a bit of language, show us some culture, and even sing a blessing for us. This tour of only four of us, the other young couple being from Australia, was really one of the best I've ever been on. Of course we saw the monuments and heard about the movie making, too. The scenery is amazing, but going off road through the back country, we saw petroglyphs and the traditional Navajo home, the hogan (ho-gahn).
Departing there, we headed toward Tuba City. This included a bit of back tracking, and as it was a lovely clear day, we were able to visit the Navajo National Monument. It's about 8 miles off the road up into the mountains. After a brief hike down into the side of the canyon, we were able to view the ancient cliff dwelling hidden there. These pueblos are from the 13th century, although they figure people lived in this canyon for thousands of years.Read more