October 23-27, 2022
We were so excited to get to Monument Valley! It was going to be gorgeous and fun-filled, and we wanted to get on the road. But we had one stop to make at the Four Corners where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah intersect. It's a marker out in the desert, featuring Native Americans selling handmade items and frybread lunches. Margot bought some gorgeous earrings, and we ate the best frybread of our southwestern stays.
Hands down, Monument Valley is the most beautiful and awe-inspiring place we've stayed since we started camping and living in our motor home full time. There are gorgeous spots all over the United States that had our attention, but there is nothing like Monument Valley. We were taking photos and excited miles before our destination, and we couldn't believe our site. We ended up at the end of a row with big bluffs and mesas all around us. We could even see part of one of the Mitten Buttes from our door.
Though we started our plan to visit Monument Valley as a trip just for us to enjoy, it quickly moved to a trip where we would rent a Jeep and have Jeep buddies from Colorado join us to explore the trails. But they hadn't joined us yet, so we had some time to do some exploring. We planned a day south of us at Canyon de Chelly (pronounced like Canyon de "Shay") and at the Hubbell Trading Post.
October in southern Utah and northern Arizona is usually warm and wonderful -- not too hot and not too cold. However, 2022 brought winter early to most of the United States. We saw an inch of snow at our campsite two different times, and it got below freezing many of the nights. When we were at Canyon de Chelly, it was very windy and bitterly cold.
Normally, you can't see the canyon or get very close to the Ancestral Puebloan ruins without a Navajo guide. We decided to see what we could for free, so we started at the visitor center before heading out to one of the canyon rims. There were lots of overlooks and very few people. We didn't stay long at any of them as it was really cold and windy. It was still very cool to spot the historical locations on the canyon walls.
We didn't go to the other side of the canyon. Instead, we headed down to the Hubbell Trading Post. Canyon de Chelly is a popular location, but most people have probably not heard of the trading post. We were really glad we stopped, and almost enjoyed it more than the canyon.
The visitor areas are really nice, with people to talk to about the location's historical significance. We even watched a Navajo woman make a rug that she said would take her four months to complete. They had a room with beautiful rugs in it, too, all for sale. They were expensive and we didn't have the room, so we didn't buy anything.
We got lucky, and a guide gave us a tour of the house there. We listened to him talk about how proud he was to be Navajo, and it was very inspiring. What a wonderful experience! We would definitely recommend this stop to anyone in the area.
After our southern visit, we headed back to Monument Valley. It was so cool to be surrounded by so much beauty. And we were ready to pick up our Jeep and meet our friends to see even more of Monument Valley. We had a good post on Instagram with an amazing view from our window.
