Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Want to know more about the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park? You’re in luck. Watch our video on that very subject below.

Is it worth $70 dollars per person to see the backcountry of the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park? Find out in this episode of Leons’ Great Escape!

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We left the Crazy Horse RV Park in Kanab, Utah en route to the Monument Valley. We try to have our drive time duration about 3 hours and this was no exception. We’d have lunch at a place that I forgot the name of… Sloppies or Scrappies… not memorable to say the least.

We stayed at a KOA which was appropriately named Monument Valley KOA.

Kampgrounds of America, or KOA, is the world's largest system of privately held campgrounds with almost 500 locations across the US and Canada. It was founded in 1962 and is based in Billings, Montana. And this was our first stay at one.

It was great. I would recommend staying at a KOA, now having done so. We have their app for finding the nearest KOA to the places we want to explore which is pretty useful, especially near cities as other options are tougher to come by.

We’d have our first campfire of the trip that evening. The KOA office had nice bundles of firewood for sale, I think it was about $7 for one at the time. Our bellies were filled with the gifts given to us by our friends and neighbors from a few days prior, a pork tenderloin. They were from Europe and closing out their holiday. The didn’t want the food to go to waste and we were happy to oblige. People on vacation are kind, happy and giving it seems. I like it.

The KOA had a playground that Pepper (our then two year old daughter) particularly enjoyed, until she didn’t. As well as this, they had a soft red dirt dog run that served Dahlia’s needs just fine. Dahlia is our five year old chocolate lab/pitty mix who at one point was said to have an allergy to dirt but she didn’t mind the likes of this kind. We usually keep the “pitty” part to ourselves when booking our stays, as you can come across breed discrimination in many RV parks and campgrounds. She certainly doesn’t deserve that.

The next morning brought us Navajo frybread, unspoiled earth, and faces in rock formations. Rever was the name of our guide through the Monument Valley Park. He would refer to the monuments with names like: Snoopy lying down, The Elephant, Three Sisters, and The Rain God Mesa. You spend enough time in the unforgivingly dry sun and you start to see these things yourself.

Buttes and mesas are in a state of decay. We marvel at them as they decompose with the most frail of them being the most adored, aka inselbergs. Like skyscrapers with files of fading history, they hold the geology of the past in their rock and soil and slowly lose pages to erosion. The people that we met have so much respect and love for the land. So genuine is their love of their culture and traditions that they still crush up insects and use them as ink. That’s commitment. When you see a gorgeous hand woven rug, chances are that part of those exotic colors are made from the guts of insects or native flowers.

Rever played us a song on a wooden flute that he had carried with him in his back pocket. The performance took place in a natural amphitheater with amazing acoustics which amplified his tune to a transcendental tone. It’s fitting to say that this is a magical and sacred place. Better yet, we were on the “Backcountry Tour”, so we got to see where people live here, and some of how they live. Despite the modern times that surround us all, they still keep it real here.

Worth $70 bucks per person? I’d say so.

Some tips and details, if you decide to go for it:

We used the Monument Valley Tribal Tours group, and Rever was a great tour guide. They have many types of tours to pick from. We chose the middle of the road as far as price and duration of the tour. Our 2.5 hour tour was called Monument Valley Backcountry Tour, for $70 per person. Our 2 year old was free. Our dog stayed home for the 3 hours total drive time.

The KOA we stayed at is offered as a pick up location but we wished we would have chosen The View Hotel lobby for a few reasons which follow.

The ride is given in an open air tour jeep style, although it is not an actual Jeep. It is, however, very capable of the off-roading you will be encountering. The seats are cushioned and bouncy and each seat has a safety belt. The use of the belt is not enforced. If you have a bad back, then you might reconsider doing this.

There is a park entrance fee which will be paid at the toll booth before officially entering the Navajo Nation Park and before arriving at The View Hotel. You will get a ticket at the booth that is good for one vehicle for the day. I believe it was $20. If you are in the tour truck, then they will charge per family and the ticket is good for re-entry with your own vehicle if you plan to return . You will probably want to, as we did, for photos of the gorgeous peak lookout views, lunch, Navajo frybread, and shopping at the gift store and/or touring the museum and grounds of the hotel.

The View Hotel is where the trucks begin their tour into the valley so there won’t be any highway driving from this point. That’s our story and we’re stickin’ to it. Enjoy! What an unforgettable and priceless day we had.

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