Monument Valley

The last stop on our road trip through the desert was Monument Valley. This small cluster of sandstone buttes has defined the image of the Wild West for decades. It’s located on Navajo land, and for a small fee you can drive the 17-mile road through the park.

Dave and I left Sedona first thing in the morning, and began the 3.5-hour drive back to Utah. It was another wide-open, desert road with nothing in sight for miles. We knew we were getting close when we saw the first towering butte jetting up out of the ground. Little did we know this was about a quarter of the size of the ones inside the park.

We stopped by the visitor center to pick up a map and souvenirs; which included a cowboy hat Dave somehow snuck in. The main road was extremely bumpy, with giant potholes to maneuver around. But getting a closer look of the beautiful rock formations was worth the complicated drive. It’s one of those places we’ve seen in countless movies and photographs, and to actually be there in real life felt completely surreal. 

After a healthy lunch of cheetos and candy, we turned on a long podcast and drove the remaining 2.5-hours back to Moab. We grabbed dinner and immediately crashed at our hotel for the night.

Our journey through the American Southwest desert was an epic adventure. We got to explore a completely different landscape, hike some incredible trails, and check six more national parks off of our list.