We all have one right?..
I never considered that I had a bucket list until we started travelling again…Monument Valley was on my bucket list.
For some reason I was fascinated with American Indians at primary school. Maybe it was that my Grandmother loved the old western movies. We would watch High Chaparral and Bonanza together..the music is playing clearly in my head! Hum along….I know your are!
These movies didn’t necessarily appear in Monument Valley Arizona, lots of others have tho..Cars, Forrest Gump…But when you are a small town Kiwi girl you don’t pay much attention to Maps.. you just dream of long plaited hair, hand crafted beaded dresses, turquoise jewellery and horses!
Monument Valley is nothing short of breathtaking. It lives up to everything that you imagine it to be. We spent a whole day there. Our friends in Flagstaff packed a lunch and drove us in their 4wd.You do need one..Its a long day..Earthy red dust permeates everything..But Wow its worth it.
The valley is Navajo land Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, its Navajo meaning Valley of the rocks, Sandstone masterpieces that tower at heights of 400 to 1,000 feet.
There is terrific accommodation at The View hotel and even better is the Trading post that saw us a little crazy buying authentic product to take home and yes this included my turquoise jewellery. Silversmithing is an important Navajo expression of art and some of the pieces were overwhelmingly beautiful. Portraits lined the wall in this gallery of Shima Sani (grandmother), the glue that holds a nation together. Being a grandmother myself I found these portraits very moving.
I did hesitate at the hand-woven rugs…Until we got to Sedona and then I closed my eyes and handed across my credit card with a ‘worry about that later’ grin. I could only afford a table runner now hanging proudly on the wall at home, in a place that makes me smile every time I walk past it…and I was given a photo of the gorgeous Navajo women who created it..That’s priceless to me.
We stopped at Cameron Trading post on our way to Bryce a couple of days later and spent 30 mins having a chat with a local who was looking after the American Indian art Gallery (stunning gallery). This is where Travel for me is the most interesting. I love being able to fully appreciate the life and history of the indigenous owners of the land. His story was familiar, like our NZ Maori, where the language was banned (in his day) and discrimination applied on a number of levels. It’s humbling seeing how the Navajo still live today and that some elders still prefer the traditional Hogan.
What is stunning about this proud, completely photogenic, land and its people is the quiet sensation that permeates your soul..long after you leave.
May it be beautiful before me.
May it be beautiful behind me.
May it be beautiful above me.
May it be beautiful below me.
May I walk in beauty.
(from the Navajo Parks & Recreation mission statement)
Turn Right 2 Go Left 