Sadly, the day after our guided tour of Monument Valley the weather was still wet, drippy and gloomy. However, since our time in this area was limited we decided to go for a ride and see some of the other highlights of the area, better to see them drippy wet, if possible, than not to see them at all. We drove north on 163 and further north on 261. We ended up coming back the same way, because our hoped for drive of the Valley of the Gods road was just not to be, you are advised by very strongly worded signs not to drive it if it is wet, and, it was wet. Even with the less than stellar weather and photographic conditions, I took over 130 photos.
Just north of the town of Mexican Hat, is the formation known by the same name. We are again amazed and mesmerized by the forces of Mother Nature and her brats and the outcome.
We saw more stunning, breath taking formations:
Still further north, more painted rock hills. There is that word again - - stunning! Looks like a child's painting to me, the striking layers of colors jotting up and down the hills.
Our next destination was Goosenecks State Park, where the scenery is the draw, although there is a small primitive campground (no water, no power, outhouses) there as well. One of our MOC fulltiming friends makes this a regular stop/stay, and I have to say, their campsite has fabulous scenery! WOW! So, I have two panoramic photos to share with you. You know the routine, click on the image to go to a larger view, click your back button to return to Reflections.
Back out on 261 driving north again, it won't be long before you start spotting more monument type formations, which are on the east side of 261. These monuments are part of the Valley of the Gods. The best way to see all of the Valley of the Gods is via CR 242, which was our hope. But, it was wet, and it is one of the regrets of our trip, that we could not make this drive. You can see from this photo, the conditions were tanking, foggy, but, in some way, rather mystical. This photo has NOT been edited, this is how it looked to me and to Sony.
So, we sadly turned around and went back towards our campsite, stopping for just a few minutes at a artist trading center type collection of stores. From that vantage point I took just a few more photos of the monuments in Monument Valley. Not the best photos due to the weather conditions, but, I just could not stop myself from trying to capture the beauty, even when raining.
We head towards Moab next. Days and days of photos, using up two sets of batteries for Sony in a day. Click, click, click!
I have not taken Monument Valley off my bucket list, I would love to do it all over again, with sunny days. And, that Valley of the Gods road really is screaming my name! This is such a special place, what a fabulous introduction to Utah. I could spend weeks in this area, and take thousands of photos and never get enough!
* Our soggy day at the Goosenecks and beyond was April 24, 2011.
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4 comments:
Gorgeous photos. I sure hope that Mexican Hat thingy doesn't ever topple off there!
Carol, gorgeous pics as usual! Though I don't comment every posting, be assured I love to travel with you and look forward to seeing your great photos as you have an "eye" to capture things that are awesome. Been a busy summer here in Ne so far, family things going on and not much genealogy work getting done- hope to get back to that full time soon. Drive safely on your travels and thanks again for sharing your wonderful pics.
Your friend, Cheri--You Go Genealogy Girl #2
I have been following your photos these past days with mouth open and eyes wide - just amazing, stunning - no words are sufficient. Wow!
As Greta said no words are sufficient, but I'm going to say some anyway. I especially love the 3rd photograph down. It's looks as though Mother Nature has laid an afghan blanket over the mountains. Beautiful!
Cheers to you,
Jennifer
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