Monument Valley Meander - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 441

1. Dinosaur Tracks
The land of the Navajos is one of timeless splendor and quiet grandeur. Both of these vir-
tues are embodied in the dinosaur tracks that can be seen just a few miles west of Tuba
City as the drive heads northeastward on Rte. 160. The fossilized footprints bear silent
testimony tothereptiles whooncelumbered acrossJurassic sediments thathavelongsince
turned to sandstone. Farther along, the drive passes two more ancient landmarks: massive
twin buttes called the Elephant Feet. Also composed of sandstone, these monuments were
worn by time and the elements into the wrinkled, leathery finish that inspired their name.
2. Navajo National Monument
With the bulk of Black Mesa brooding to the south, Rte. 160 forges northeast into Navajo
country. No less than today's travelers, the Navajo people, too, have played the role of
stranger in these parts. Long before they arrived, some four centuries ago, this was the
home of the mysterious Anasazi people, possibly ancestors of the modern Hopis. A rem-
nant of this lost tribe can be seen at Navajo National Monument, which sprawls across
broken high country at the end of Rte. 564, a nine-mile drive through pygmy junipers and
piñon pines.
Here, the remains of Anasazi pueblo villages slumber beneath beetling ocher cliffs, ac-
cessible to hikers by trails through steep terrain and sand. Note that backcountry travel
requires ranger guides or permits. Clustered within a great cavern in a canyon wall, the
700-year-old ruin called Betatakin contains inner walls still sooty from cooking fires long
since extinguished.
Another site, Keet Seel, is one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the Southwest.
It welcomes only those visitors hardy enough to venture eight miles on foot or horseback
from the Navajo National Monument visitor center. (As of this printing, this area was
closedduetoflashfloodinginthecanyons,whichdamagedthetrailsandcausedquicksand
to form. You are best advised to call first before venturing out here.)
3. Agathla Peak
At the wind-scoured little town of Kayenta, veer north on Rte. 163 and traverse a mile-
high valley where ravens often can be seen wheeling overhead. Before long, as if to an-
nounce the approach to Monument Valley, a sentinel pierces the desert sky: To the east
stands Agathla Peak (Spanish explorers called it El Capitán), a great black thunderhead of
a mountain believed to be the core of a prehistoric volcano. Across the road, on the west