Run, Forrest! Run!
“I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now”
How The West Was Won
2001: A Space Odyssey
Easy Rider
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
Thelma And Louise
Those, and dozens of other films, TV shows and album covers were filmed at Monument Valley. It’s been captured in video games, used as one of the wallpapers for Windows Vista and, of course, it’s where Forrest Gump ended his cross-country run.
Located in the Navajo Nation on the border of Utah and Arizona, Monument Valley is full of formations and big skies. I went for the sunrise and sunset, but the clouds - and then the rain - caused a change in plans. We snuck in a quick afternoon tour before the weather turned.
The clouds worked in our favor for the first hour or so …
And we captured some of the classic shots …
The best part of the park is only accessible with a guide and we hired Steven - a member of the Navajo tribe - who took this shot of me and Lisa.
This shot was taken at John Ford’s Point, named after the famous director who shot nine movies in Monument Valley.
Steven brought us to visit some friends in a traditional hogan, made of logs and covered in mud.
The rain was soon to come and the ground sure looked like it needed it.
We drove out to the backcountry and saw some amazing formations.
Steven serenaded us with his amazing skills on a traditional flute.
We relaxed, leaned back, looked up to the sky … and recognized the bird’s head above us.
We came across many petroglyphs, which are believed to have been created by the Pueblos who first inhabited these lands from the years 100 to 1600, before they mysteriously disappeared.
Another formation where the sun peeks through at the right time of day during the right time of year. For us, the clouds were moving in.
My favorite shot in the park came from this location, after we first climbed the sand dunes and I caught this out of the corner of my eye on the way down. No pictures of Lisa for scale, but this is a lot higher than it looks.
The next morning we were on the hunt for a sunrise shot, but the weather quickly turned and we realized that it was time to get out of Dodge. In fact, Dodge City, which we visited a few weeks ago, had much better weather for sunrise photography.
This is the iconic shot of the road leading into Monument Valley where Forrest Gump ended his run that lasted three years, two months, 14 days and 16 hours. The monuments are typically much more visible when its not raining on you.
But it didn’t stop Lisa from one last pose before we climbed into the RV to continue our own journey.
