"Monument Valley State Park Utah " a Monument Valley State Park Travel Page by RAINBOWWINGS

The drive from Bryce Canyon to Monument Valley was long, hot and dusty...but worth every minute. The scenery was breathtaking and so varied from the bright orange rocks of Bryce to the white and black hills around Hanksville onto the open plains and the build up to Monument Pass..one of the tallest mountains Ive ever driven over..I think!
Before you start to ascend this Pass you are warned that the road has many hairpin bends and is very narrow and is of gravel, but goodness me..when you reach the top the views are like nothing youve ever seen before.
Stretching before you is the flat plain leading to Monument Valley...just a road and nothing! Then you see them in the distance, the famed monoliths sprouting from the desert ground reaching up into the blue sky. You recognise them instantly as youve probably seen them a hundred times or more in the western films of John Wayne, Leif Erikson,Clint Eastwood etc. Now you are within touching distance as you approach the towns of Mexican Hat , Gouldings Lodge and Kayenta.

Theres only one hotel/Lodge in Monument Valley Park and thats Gouldings Lodge and unfortunately we couldnt book there so we headed on another 30minutes and came to Kayenta a Navajo town, with a good Holiday Inn, several gas stations and a huge supermarket used by all the locals. this town is 94%populated by Navajo who work the hotels and services.
One thing worth remembering...Kayenta is a dry town ..so no alcohol.