Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
115
Canyon and later returning to the rim. Between late May and early September, these
guided hikes are offered twice a day and leave the visitor center at 8:15 and 10am
(remember, daylight saving time
is
observed here on the Navajo Nation). Other months,
tours leave weekends at 10am, but call to make sure the tour will be going out. These
hikes are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. All participants should carry 1 to 2
quarts of water. While this is a fascinating hike, you will be hiking with a large group.
Keet Seel
, which means “broken pieces of pottery” in Navajo, has a much longer
history than Betatakin, with occupation beginning as early as a.d. 950 and continuing
until 1300. At one point, Keet Seel may have housed 150 people. The 17-mile round-trip
hike is quite strenuous. During the summer, hikers usually stay overnight at a primitive
campground near the ruins, but in the winter, the hike is done as a day hike. You must
carry enough water for your trip—up to 2 gallons in summer—because none is available
along the trail. These hikes are offered daily between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and
sometimes on weekends in other months.
WHERE TO STAY
There is no lodge at the national monument, but there are two free campgrounds that
have a total of 48 campsites. Sunset View Campground is open all year, while Canyon
View Campground is open only between April and September. Both campgrounds are
free, and neither takes reservations. The nearest reliable motels are 30 miles away in
Kayenta. See the section on Monument Valley, below, for details.
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MONUMENT VALLEY NAVAJO
TRIBAL PARK
60 miles NE of Navajo National Monument; 110 miles NW of Canyon de Chelly; 200 miles NE of Flagstaff;
150 miles E of Page
In its role as sculptor, nature has, in the north central part of the Navajo Reservation,
created a garden of monoliths and spires unequaled anywhere on earth. Whether you've
been here or not, you've almost certainly seen images of Monument Valley before. This
otherworldly landscape has been an object of fascination for years, and since Hollywood
director John Ford first came here in the 1930s, it has served as backdrop for countless
movies, TV shows, and commercials.
Located 30 miles north of Kayenta and straddling the Arizona-Utah state line (you
actually go into Utah to get to the park entrance), Monument Valley is a vast flat plain
punctuated by natural sandstone cathedrals. These huge monoliths rise up from the
sagebrush with sheer walls that capture the light of the rising and setting sun and trans-
form it into fiery hues. Evocative names including the Mittens, Three Sisters, Camel
Butte, Elephant Butte, the Thumb, and Totem Pole reflect the shapes the sandstone has
taken under the erosive forces of nature.
While it may at first seem as if this strange landscape is a barren wasteland, it is actu-
ally still home to a few hardy Navajo families. The Navajo have been living in the valley
for generations, herding their sheep through the sagebrush scrublands, and some families
continue to reside here today. In fact, human habitation in Monument Valley dates back
hundreds of years. Within the park are more than 100 Ancestral Puebloan archaeological
sites, ruins, and petroglyphs dating from before 1300.
