BACK ROAD ADVENTURE

Monument Valley's Hoodoos and Monoliths Mesmerize Visitors

THANKS TO SMUDGED mental images recalled from old Western movies, and to my recent fascination with the saga of the Navajo god Monster Slayer, I have always felt drawn to the stark vistas of Monument Valley. I finally decided to make that long trek to the place the Navajos call “The Treeless Area Amid the Rocks.” My journey began 24 miles north of U.S. Route 160 on U.S. Route 163 where I turned east on Indian Route 42 into Monument Valley. Three and a half miles down a packed gravel road, I arrived at the Navajo Tribal Park Visitor Center and the beginning of the 14-mile road through the park.

Outside the windows of my little white vehicle, a surreal landscape unfolded in front of me and I found myself thinking of Pulitzer Prize-winner N. Scott Momaday's writings on Monument Valley: “You see the monoliths that stand away in space, and you imagine that you have come upon eternity. They do not appear to exist in time. You think: I see that time comes to an end on this side of the rock, and on the other side there is nothing forever.” For the first time in my life, I could see forever.

The bumpy drive from Route 163 is the only off-highway travel permitted without an Indian guide, and visitors on this self-guided tour are restricted to the road. Numerous tour companies offer Indian-guided trips of varying length into restricted areas of the park.

The tribe considers the entire valley to be a giant hogan, with the butte near Goulding's Trading Post marking the fireplace, and the doorposts at Sentinel and Gray Whiskers mesas. After I entered this sacred hogan, I unfolded my map and headed down Valley Drive, which would lead me to a one-way loop road along the park's natural wonders.

As I drove, I cast a glance backward to the looming 800-foot specter of Eagle Mesa where spirits flee after death, according to Navajo legends, and their cries carry on the wind.

One mile from the visitors center, I came to the first scenic point, which frames the famous images of East and West Mitten buttes andMerrick Butte clustered to the north. In Navajo tradition, some stories declare that these sandstone monoliths, reaching up 1,000 feet above the valley floor, are all that remain of the giant killed along the path taken by Monster Slayer across Navajoland. Other stories say these two dormant hands stand to remind Navajos that the gods will return and rule this world once more.

Merrick Butte is a reminder of a different sort.

This butte to the north and Mitchell Mesa to the south of the road are named for two silver prospectors who dared to search for riches on these sacred grounds in December 1879 and, as a result, met their demise near the monuments that now bear their names.

Following the road east, at a bit less than 3 miles, I paused to gaze south at the pinnacles known as the Three Sisters, holy people seemingly frozen in form. A little farther on Valley Drive, at the 3.5-mile mark, I stopped for a while to take in the view at the point named after John Ford, the movie director whose love for the elemental landscape was mirrored in many of his famous Westerns, including Stagecoach and My Darling Clementine.

Dust kicked up as I continued slowly along the way. At several points, I wanted to stop and wander among the majestic sentinels, but the Navajos strictly forbid visitors from getting out of their cars at any point other than the 11 scenic viewpoints along the park road and, even there, signs warn against leaving the parking areas.

Valley Drive forks at the 4-mile mark, near Camel Butte, where the loop drive begins and ends. Signs direct returning traffic north toward the visitors center, and traffic beginning the loop is directed south where the road skirts Rain God Mesa.

On that afternoon, a few wisps of white clouds swept across a cerulean sky, but rain

seemed as distant as a long-forgotten dream. Rain God Mesa, one of the monuments with seeps at their bases, has four springs-each facing one of the four cardinal directions. Traditionally, medicine men collect the water for sacred ceremonies. As the road

curved east, I found myself hemmed in between Rain God Mesa and Thunderbird Mesa, legendary home of thunder and lightning. Their strength made me shiver as I stood in the sunshine, contemplating the forces that created such beauty. Desert varnish left dark red stains on the rock face, the color of which shifted and glimmered in sunlight and shadow.

This desert highland, at 5,564 feet elevation, was once a lowland basin. Sediment eroded from the early Rocky Mountains deposited across the basin and cemented through millions of years, until it was uplifted from pressure beneath the Earth's surface, like the rest of the Colorado Plateau.

For the last 50 million years, the forces of wind and water have eroded the layers of sediment on the plateau and sculpted the massive monuments grain by grain.

Hogans nestle along the road and farther out into the valley, where the Navajo people live and play as they have since they first came to this region in the late 15th century.

Since that time, the Navajos were only parted from this land's stark beauty by their forced relocation to New Mexico between 1864 and 1868. Ninety years later, the Navajo Tribal Council designated the 29,816-acre Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park to preserve its

singular beauty and the lifestyle of the Navajos residing within its boundaries.

Tempted to preserve my memory of the people and their homes, I fingered my camera, but signs at the private residences curbed my impulse. Instead, I would take home pictures of the incredible works of nature that surround them.

At mile 6, I stopped to gaze at the glory of the Yei Bichei formation and Totem Pole, its northernmost figure-slender sandstone spires resembling a procession of Ye'ii dancers participating in a ceremony.

I have heard a variety of myths associated with Totem Pole. It is said to be the home of the mirage people, who bring wealth and blessings to those who honor them with offerings, or it is a prayer stick housing spirits who were offended by rock climbers and so withhold the rain.

The rutted road isn't recommended for recreational or lowclearance vehicles, but my modest car managed the bumps with no problems. To drive while watching the shifting scenery took some doing, but time slows down here and creeping along suited me just fine.

I stopped at all of the other scenic viewpoints along the way: Sand Springs, Artist's Point, North Window, the Thumb-each offering a different perspective of the sweeping valley and its storied sculptures.

At mile 14, back at the visitors center after about two hours, I parked the car, perused the Navajo arts and crafts in the gift shop and then wandered out to the lookout behind the building to soak up the blaze of color, the fierceness of the sky and the mythic memory frozen in a timeless valley. I stood there, silent and solemn, watching the dance of light on the stone spirits and hearing their faint songs on the breeze. Al WARNING: Back road travel can be hazardous if you are not prepared for the unexpected. Whether traveling in the desert or in the high country, be aware of weather and road conditions. Make sure you and your vehicle are in top shape and you have a full tank of gas. Carry plenty of water. Don't travel alone, and let someone at home know where you are going and when you plan to return. Odometer readings in the story may vary by vehicle.

TRAVEL ADVISORY: The Navajo Nation observes daylight-saving time from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. The remainder of Arizona does not observe DST, so the Navajo Nation is one hour ahead of the rest of Arizona during that period.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, (435) 7275870; www.navajonationparks.org.