Dave and I started our day enjoying a beautiful sunrise over Monument Valley.
The sun started showing up behind East Mitten.
Our plan for today was to spend about 2-3 hours exploring Monument Valley and visit Sedona in the afternoon. After breakfast in the café at the hotel, which was very good, we got into our rental car and started the Valley Drive journey.
The Valley Drive is a 17 mile loop among the most famous landmarks in the valley. Our first stop was at the West Mitten near the small Navajo Indian market. The East and West Mitten Buttes look like hands, yet it signifies spiritual beings watching over.
A nice man offered to take picture of both of us. 🙂
We took a closer look at Merrick Butte. Merrick Butte and Mitchell Mesa are named after two prospectors who discovered silver inside the park. Unfortunately, stories reveal that a band of The Ute tribe killed the two and concealed the silver.
Here, we are approaching Elephant Butte. Imagine a gigantic elephant in the southwest desert.
Then, we stopped at the overlook across the street from Camel Butte. This mid-eastern animal faces the west.
The Three Sisters is a formation of a Catholic nun facing her two pupils. Three Sisters formation is adjacent to Mitchell Mesa.
Across the road from Three Sisters we found John Ford’s Point, from which the famous cinematographer filmed some of his best Westerns. John Ford’s Point – a promontory at the edge of a plateau overlooking a large area of uneven, undulating desert land around the first few miles of the Valley Drive, with several isolated peaks beyond. John Ford’s Point is depicted very well in the movie The Lone Ranger (2013).
Here are a few pictures from the web of some movies that were filmed in Monument Valley.
Back to the Future part III (1990).
How The West Was Won (1962).
Stagecoach (1939).
The searchers (1956).
Shortly, we reached a circle with the horse stables and some port-a-potties 🙂
The Valley Drive is an unpaved, dusty and bumpy road, but at the circle the road heading forward became a narrower and bumpier one way road. We decided not to explore it further with our rental car and return back to the visitor center. These open buggies are actually tours offered by the Navajo tribe. Touring is a good option, if you don’t mind sitting in the dust for a couple of hours.
We took a couple more pictures of the valley before heading back on the road.
Here we are on our way to check out. I like this huge fireplace near the reception area.
We stopped near Gray Whiskers and Mitchell Butte to take a closer look after we exited the park.
And a couple more pictures next to the Monument Valley sign.
The drive to Sedona took us about 3.5 hours. There is a couple views from the road.
Here, we are driving through Flagstaff. It was weird to see such a different side of Arizona with a real forest and a ski resort nearby after all these red rocks and various canyons. We had only a quick stop for lunch in Flagstaff, but the city looked really nice.
From Flagstaff, Sedona is also reachable from I-17, but by far the most spectacular route is down Oak Creek Canyon via Hwy 89A. Dave and I chose the latter and we didn’t regret our decision. The drive isn’t exactly smooth because of numerous switchbacks and minimal shoulder, but the view is well worth it. A winding road offers views of a flowing creek and a lushly green forest. Blended into the scenery are lodges, vacation rentals and quaint bed and breakfast accommodations. Here are a few pictures of the road.
Entering Sedona.
The red rocks complimented by green trees, make this city incredibly beautiful and unique. Every view is breathtaking.
I couldn’t stop snapping pictures while driving through this gorgeous city.
Here we are approaching the Chapel of the Holy Cross. This unique chapel built into the rock offers great views.
The Chapel was closed at that time, so we just enjoyed the view from outside.
This is the Main Street in uptown of Sedona, which is a touristy area, full of shops, bars and restaurants. Shops are selling everything from t-shirts to Southwestern wear and art. A few stores sell shirts dyed in genuine Sedona red rock. Sedona is home to a bustling downtown and vibrant arts community, but the real attraction is the surreal, red rock landscape, visible from anywhere in town.
Sedona specializes in local Native American arts and crafts, international galleries and New Age shops (aura readings, healing crystals, vortex information).
Javelina Sculpture entitled “Have-Aloha” by Andrea Smith located on the Main Street of Sedona.
“Birdwoman” by John M. Soderberg.
“Red Rocks and the Cowboy Artist” bronze sculpture by Clyde “Ross” Morgan. The girl in blue looks like a person from the distance, but she is part of the composition.
An office on this street offers Hot Air Balloon Rides. If we stayed a little longer in Sedona, we would have definitely considered taking one of these at sunrise or sunset.
We stayed in Sedona only for one night in the Arabella hotel. This hotel is conveniently located on AZ-179 with easy access in an uncongested area, but close to everything. Our room was spacious, modern and clean. Breakfast was included and it was very good. We would recommend this hotel when staying in Sedona.
An outside look of the hotel.
The rest of the evening we spent enjoying sunset at the hotel pool.
Sunset viewed from the hotel’s grounds over AZ-179. Tomorrow morning we will be driving to Phoenix and then flying back home.
