We drove south-west from Cortez along Highway 160 toward highly commercialised Four Corners, the only spot in the US where four states, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, meet. A person with some agility can plant a limb in one of all four states at the same time. Before arriving at Four Corners, we crossed Ute Mountain Indian Reservation where a large casino and hotel complex probably generated the most income for a marginalised and dispossessed people.
Between Cortez and Four Corners, Colorado
As soon as we entered Arizona, we were in the vast Navajo Nation Indian Reservation, which extended across the borders into New Mexico and Utah. Teec Nos Pos, 6 miles from Four Corners (the Navajo had a tribal park at Four Corners), was the first settlement we came to (the name “Teec Nos Pos” means “cottonwoods in a circle”). Teec Nos Pos had an official population of about 700, most of whom were Navajo, a trading post, a post office and lots of modest homes for families with modest incomes. Red Mesa, a few miles west, had more going for it including a school, a very large health centre and a considerable number of substantial modern houses in impeccable condition. I was surprised to see that the high school football team was called the Redskins, given the criticism levelled at Washington’s NFL franchise for its refusal to dispense with the same name. Surrounding us were bluffs, mesas, cliffs and a very arid valley floor (it always seemed to be the case that first people in the US were given reservations comprising the least productive land), but to our eyes, the scenery was compelling and a fitting introduction to the even more remarkable Monument Valley.
Mexican Water, the next settlement west, had a gas station, a diner, a laundry and a few shacks and trailers dispersed widely over the surrounding sand and rock. Tes Nez Iah was next, a hamlet beside a creek that filled with water very infrequently, in most instances only after the highly intermittent heavy downpours that could result in flash flooding. Inevitably, such creeks dried up almost as quickly as they filled with water. On closer inspection, it looked as if Tes Nez Iah was abandoned. Another few miles west and we arrived in Dennehotso where two water towers overlooked what were mainly one-storey buildings scattered across the red sandy soil. Some parched grass, bushes and trees survived among the gently undulating desolation.
Between Four Corners and Kayenta, Arizona
It was not until arriving in Kayenta that we came across a settlement with many facilities, but most of them seemed to exist merely to service people on their way to or from Monument Valley. We turned north onto Highway 163 and, all the way to Mexican Hat in Utah, had a wonderful time taking in some of the most iconic scenery anywhere in the US. We loved every minute, whether looking at the mesas, buttes and pinnacles; lining up some of the natural wonders in relation to the road, barbed wire fences or ruined wooden buildings; coming across small herds of goats or a few horses; or buying chilled drinks at Goulding’s Trading Post where we chatted briefly with a few obese Navajo men whose diet was far too mainstream contemporary American to be much good for their health. We also drove a few miles along Rock Door Canyon Road just beyond tiny Monument Valley Airport so we could see where and how contemporary Navajo lived some way from the prying eyes of day trippers such as ourselves. We found a small post office, trailer homes and little wooden houses set among untidy gardens and corrals with a few horses. Most families seemed to have at least two motor vehicles, albeit quite old and heavily used ones, and a selection of trailers for transporting livestock and household items.
Goulding’s Trading Post, Monument Valley
Goulding’s Trading Post, Monument Valley
Rock Door Canyon Road, Monument Valley
Rock Door Canyon Road, Monument Valley
Rock Door Canyon Road, Monument Valley
Airport, Monument Valley
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Monument Valley
By the time we were at Goulding’s Trading Post, we were back in Utah. After about another six stops along the road leading through the north end of Monument Valley, we arrived in Mexican Hat (the town was so named because of a nearby rock formation that resembled a Mexican hat).
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
Monument Valley
P.S. Monument Valley possesses some of the most iconic and best-known landscapes anywhere on the planet. Although hundreds of Monument Valley posts already exist on the internet, I wanted to do one that was a little different.
When I got home, I found that almost every photo I had taken in Monument Valley included evidence of the impact of humankind. It is the impact of humankind on the valley that I have sought to examine. However, I do not feel that such an impact has been altogether detrimental. In fact, some of the photos have been enhanced by humankind’s occasionally eccentric interventions.
The USA: Landscapes and Urban Spaces 