Rough route we took

Itinerary for the front seat

The Great Salt Lake from the motel ...more on the salt lake

Tired travelers
 

Limestone Cliffs between Provo and Moab, UT
Things really started getting interesting after we departed Provo
Note the different strata in the rock.
 

Old building behind the gas station in Price Utah
 

Another nice old building in Price
Price was settled in 1879 by the Mormons and named after Bishop Price.  Amtrak's California Zephyr passes once a day each direction. Probably where the RR ties came from.

A window rock we passed near natural bridges national park

Arriving at the Recapture Lodge Bluff, Utah.. Population 220
This  place was in the middle of nowhere. Nothing open except the gas station and minimart. Fortunately they made a pretty good pizza for takeout.

This was a well worn motel about 50 miles NE of Monument Valley.
But it had character and we talked to the owner Jim Hook and learned some of the history and background of the place.
 

Cool shed we found while exploring the grounds.
Another interesting shed
.

Poured slab for an addition to the lodge.
We looked up Gene Foushee and learned he was a visionary who came to Bluff in 1959 and built Recapture Lodge, did tours, knew everyone, liked to build stuff, had a Cessna.
We found a ton of interesting information about this guy, nearby union carbide geologist, married co exec secretary, etc.
 

Another building in the back of the property.
We weren't sure if there was a trailer underneath or not!
The place closed for the season the day we left (11/29).
 

Studebaker Coupe (unknown year) in the back. View rear
 

Departing Bluff
 

Mexican Hat on the way to Monument Valley

The name "Mexican Hat" comes from this curious sombrero-shaped rock outcropping. The rock measures 60-foot (18 m) wide by 12-foot (3.7 m). The "Hat" has two rock climbing routes ascending it.

Getting close
 

Buttes, Stacks and Mesas

We check out Gouldings Lodge at the entrance to Monument Valley and have a great breakfast.
In the early 1920s, Harry Goulding and his wife visited Monument Valley and were enamored with the area. They  jumped at the chance to purchase a substantial plot of land in Monument Valley and set up a Trading Post. Another shot of that butte on the right with a disguised cell tower at the base.
 

Over the years, the Gouldings built lodge rooms and a dining facility to accommodate their guests. Aerial view
 

Nice restored stagecoach on the grounds.
View an old black and white photo of a stagecoach and team of horses in the valley.
In the 1930s, Harry Goulding heard of a movie production company scouting out locations in the Southwest to use in films.
He believed that bringing movie production to Monument Valley would help the local Navajos with much-needed income.

In the distance.. "massive eolian sandstones have produced spectacular monolithic landforms"

Harry Goulding met photographer Josef Muench and took some of his pictures to Hollywood with their last $60. By luck and perseverance, he met  with director John Ford. When Ford saw Harry’s photos of Monument Valley, he knew it was the perfect location for his next movie. The Gouldings received an advance payment, and soon John Ford and his crew began filming Stagecoach starring John Wayne.
Another one of his early pictures.

 

Movie poster
This was considered the beginning of Hollywood's A-Western Renaissance. Here's a white paper on the western "movie renaissance" by Cambridge university ...more

We decide to do a "jeep tour" of the back roads around the monuments
We choose a Navaho-owned tour Dineh Bekeyah (The People)
(L-R Harry our guide, Sage, Jan)

Dave shooting a picture while dog warily watches the road ahead

Guide said that the one spire was a robed figure of a nun
This is probably one of the pictures Dave was taking.
We had four cameras: Nikon D90, Olympus TG5, Olympus M10 and a iPhone 12 mini

Formations crop out around this prehistoric uplift

Sage posing in foreground of a very nice formation.
We were told director john ford liked this spot and would come here.
Another shot, couple doing selfie

Navajo Jewelry and trinket sales
 

Another formation
Note the horse corral and tour saddle-up area



 

The US Government mined Uranium in the area in the 1950s.
Here's a White paper on Uranium in monument valley.
 

It was unbelievable
Those two are exactly 1 mi. apart
We had Harry our guide take a portrait
 

Another monument
They all had native names and stories told by our guide but we lost track. Here's a Map with names

Eagle Butte
Guide Harry related a story of how his brother climbed it and told his dad that when he got to the top, he'd build a fire to let them know he was OK. They all got in the car and drove to where they could see the top. There was a fire.

12/14/21