Across The USA by Dodge
Chapter 27
That night I stayed at an interesting motel in a little place called Tes-Nez-Iah. To set the scene this is all indian reservation land -- and everything is owned and run by the indians. If you look at a map there are virtually no large towns anywhere within a 500-mile radius. The motel is at the back of a gas station, general store complex.
There was nothing wrong with the motel but it was like something from a movie. There was a tribe of kids playing video game machines in the store and a number of flea-bitten dogs hanging around the door mooching for food. I arrived fairly late so I got something to eat at the store and went to watch some TV. To my surprise there were just two channels, both from Canada (which is like 500 miles north!) and one of them in French! I can't figure that out.
The next day I drove to Monument Valley and now that I've had time to think about things was probably my favourite place on the whole trip. There's no doubt that you've seen this place in countless movies -- such as numerous B grade westerns and more recently "Back to The Future III". Most famously John Ford used it in some of his classic westerns with John Wayne such as "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon".
I went on a guided tour with a Navajo guide and a family of German tourists (mum, dad, son and daughter) who were very nice. You can drive your own car on the bumpy dirt road but if you go with a guide he takes you to some of the back roads normal cars aren't allowed to travel on, so you see quite a lot more.
The place is incredible and as far as I'm concerned the highlight of the trip.
It's a place of beauty because of the rock formations which have been given names like
The when you think about it it's a place of sorrow because the Navajo try to make their living there but the soil is so degraded that it's almost impossible to grow crops there.
It's almost like being on another planet actually -- well other planets that resemble those in Lost In Space. The sandy soil and the chunks of rock.
Chapter 28
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