Make Like John Wayne And Head To Monument Valley

Above, Ear of the Wind arch. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the high points of last year's trip to Metropolis, Illinois was my stay at Monument Valley. 

Although it was cold at the time, it was a very enjoyable visit and I am actually looking forward to visiting it again. This will be much easier after I make my New Mexico move.

The Yorkshire Evening Post (U.K.) has an article on visiting Monument Valley.

It starts with:

Wondering where to go on holiday in 2018? Make like John Wayne and head to Arizona’s Monument Valley, says Sarah Freeman.  

I never thought my wardrobe was missing a cowboy hat. Until I got to Monument Valley.  

It was back in the 1930s and 40s that John Ford filmed a clutch of westerns there, but even though it’s now been some years since the last saloon brawl, there is still something about this corner of Arizona which makes a girl want to rock a pair of leather chaps.  

It’s Harry Goulding’s fault. He was the owner of the nearby trading lodge who first got wind that the Hollywood director was scouting for suitable locations to film a series of cowboy films.  

Ford had been looking at America’s southwest, but with the Great Depression having hit the Navajo reservation hard, Harry reckoned Monument Valley was a worthier backdrop. Along with his wife Leone, who was known to everyone as Mike, the couple used their last $60 to travel to California armed only with a set of photographs of the area and a determination to bring Ford back with them.

Above, "The Mittens" at sunset. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.