Monument Valley & Mesa Verde

Yesterday on our way from the Grand Canyon to Monument Valley we passed a sign that said ‘Dinosaur Tracks’ so I slammed on the brakes and we turned down a dirt track to be greeted by a tribe of Native Americans, some more friendly than others. For only tips or donations, we were given a 20 minute guided tour of the limestone rocks scattered around the native’s homes which have dinosaur tracks and fossils embedded in them from millions of years ago. At first we were a bit sceptical but after a few choice questions and witnessing fossilised dinosaur eggs; half open so the membrane and nucleus were visible, I was 98% convinced the tracks and fossils were legit. The area is also featured on many official tourist maps of so I think it is safe to say the site is real. We saw a Pterodactyl claw, Raptor and T-Rex footprints and even craters left by T-Rex eggs (we were told the eggs are now in a museum).

We then stopped for lunch before heading off to more Native Tribe land, the Monument Valley Navajo Tribe Park. We read in tour guides that the landscape here was the best to be found in America. After all the sights we had seen over the last few days we were a bit dubious, however as we drew nearer we understood why. It is incredible standing on the edge of a cliff face and staring into an abyss as we did at Bryce and Grand Canyon but there is something even more amazing about a standing in a valley and staring up at huge spires of fiery red rock; weathered and chiselled away by wind and rain over millions of years to form such incredible formations. It really needs to be seen to be believed. You can get a good look at many of the buttes and mesas from the visitors centre. We decided to be adventurous and took the off road 17 – mile round trip into the valley to get up close to what they call the 8^th wonder of the world. They really meant it when they said it was off road, it took us the best part of 4 hours to get in and out of the valley and there were some hairy moments that our insurance wouldn’t have covered! But we managed to get the car out in one piece and again got some awesome photos.

Jenny would like me to add that the main way the natives make their money from the tourist trade passing through the park is by setting up stalls at the various scenic lay-bys on the off road route to sell their handmade jewellery. To be fair some of it was quite impressive considering it was handmade and Jenny picked up a few pieces...a nice little bracelet and a lovely ring both; using the stone turquoise as their centre piece. I would like to comment further and note how when asking which stones were used in the rings the tribes man told her, whilst pointing to each ring; ‘mother pearl, turquoise, black jack and tigers eyes’. To which Jenny asked without a hint of sarcasm; ‘What?! They are real tiger’s eyes?’

Today we left Monument Valley and took a brief stop at the four corners monument where the states of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona intersect, the only place in America where four states meet. The actual monument depicting the exact spot where they meet was under improvement construction so we didn’t stay long but did pick up some souvenirs from the stalls the native Americans run, including an arrow and a knife carved from  Buffalo rib.

We then set of for Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde is very different to any of the previous parks we have explored. Here you enter the park and take a 12 mile drive to the visitors centre which is located on the top of a huge Mesa such as the ones depicted in the photos of Monument Valley. From here you buy tickets for Ranger guided tours from the visitor’s centre of incredible cliff side dwellings that an ancient native civilisation created beginning in A.D. 550.

Again, photos don’t do the place justice. It is hard to get a real feel of the scale in the photos of the dwellings but bear in mind when viewing that the cliffs they are perched on are on average 800ft high from the valley floor and the tribe that lived there were 5ft 3 on average. This gives you an idea of how incredible their masonry skills were to create such extreme accommodation. We took one guided tour of the pueblos; as we arrived late afternoon we were only left with the choice of the hardest to access area. The tour involved us climbing a 32ft ladder, crawling through a 12ft long tunnel, climbing up a 60ft open cliff face with stone steps and two 10ft ladders to exit the site – all over 600ft above the valley below. For anyone familiar with the park it was the Balcony House dwelling. To find out more about this amazing civilisation that seemingly disappeared in A.D. 1300 click here.