monument valley tribal monument

Sculptures of Sand

Sculpted by wind and time, the ancient sentinels of Monument Valley stand as testament to the rugged beauty of the desert southwest. Their stoic presence speaks of resilience, whispering tales of a time when dinosaurs roamed the land. The Navajo people revere these formations, considering them sacred places imbued with the spirits of their ancestors. Gazing upon these natural wonders, we are humbled by the enduring power of nature and the vastness of time.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
Navajo Nation USA

The Monuments

It was not my first rodeo at Monument valley. But I still got the chills looking at these towering buttes and mesas rising above the vast dry desert floor of the Colorado Plateau. And on this particular day, a transient sandstorm created a layer of haze around the shale skirts of the buttes and exaggerated the vast wild West atmosphere exuded by the Valley of the Rocks.

The park is still closed, and that prevented us from getting up close and personal with these monuments. But they still held their beauty from afar.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
AZ USA

The Marching Elephants

I awaited in eerie darkness in the high desert on the border between Arizona and Utah. All around, I could sense the monolithic rock formations that dot this desert, but I could never really see them. The faint dawn light slowly crept across the sky westward, and added structure to the sensation.

As the darkness eased, I could see the nearest butte, looking like a marching elephant trundling westward. More time passed, and I could make out the details of the buttes further away. Nameless rock formations towered above the folds of desert landscape, and acquired a pink glow from the morning light. The land grew richer in detail until the first light of day struck the tips of these buttes.

This visit to the tribal park of the Navajo Nation was perhaps one my most memorable ones. I will never forget the vast Jon Waynesque landscapes I got to experience. And right now, the population of the Navajo nation are facing two major challenges: both the impact of lower tourism, and the high number of cases amongst the populate. It will be a while before normalcy returns to this sacred land

Monument Valley Tribal Park

UT USA

The Wild West

Soaring spires rising from a desolate rocky landscape interspersed by dusty road threading the undulating red rocks. This was the scenery that I found myself immersed in a sojourn in the desert southwest. Coming from the greenery of the Pacific Northwest, the stark red terrain felt as alien as the landscape on the moon. And as the glaring desert light started to fade, the hues tempered to the deeper shades of red and finally black, leaving behind inky dark silhouettes against a pastel shaded sky.

And this cycle reversed again in the morning: the light from the rising sun slipped through the fingers of earth and filtered through the clouds, creating fleeting visions of shadow and light on the monumental landscape around.

All this in one 24 hour cycle. The photographer in me wonders what an entire year would bring.

Desert Southwest
UT / AZ