I started toying with the idea of a day trip up to Monument Valley during the ride back to Flagstaff from the north rim on Tuesday. I knew it was a little long for a day trip, 180 miles each way, but probably still doable. I wanted to try and plan to be at the park in time to see the Moon come up and was hoping to place it somewhere near one of the buttes for a really nice shot. This was good because it meant I did not need to get that early of a start, but it also meant I would be coming back at night.

I left Flagstaff around 10 and it was a beautiful morning---sunny and warm and not a cloud in the sky. I stopped to take some photos of some horses grazing in a huge pasture on the north side of town. At this point I think it was actually well outside the city limits of Flagstaff and probably closer to midway between Flagstaff and Cameron. The scene with the San Francisco Peaks in the background was just too perfect to pass up. After that I continued on... through Cameron... through Tuba City... and up US-160 towards Monument Valley.

I noticed a sign along the road for Navajo National Monument and it was close to lunch time so I decided to stop there for lunch and also kill some time. I walked down the path to the Betakin Ruin overlook to take some photos but I was very disappointed with the light. Only the very front part of the ruin was in sunlight and the rest was in darkness caused by the overhanging cliff. I decided that this situation might improve if I waited an hour or so as the sun was already past its high point for the day and would be starting to go down. So I found the picnic area and ate the lunch that I had brought with me... still left-over food from the backpacking trip.

When I went back about an hour later I was a little disturbed to see even more of a shadow than before and then I discovered that it was not being caused by the overhanging cliff but wall on the western side of the ruin. This was only going to get worse as the day progressed so I took what photos I could and left.

About an hour later I passed some more horses grazing just outside of Monument Valley and stopped to take a few photos of them. These were Navajo horses, not as well fed and nicely groomed as those I had seen outside of Flagstaff, but there is still nothing like a horse, they are truly remarkable creatures, in just about any form. And I managed to get some photos with the buttes of Monument Valley behind them which was a definite plus.

Monument Valley itself was just as beautiful as I remembered. I paid my $5 entrance fee, made a quick stop at the Visitor Center and then proceeded to drive the self-guiding road among the monuments. I passed the road I was hoping to go down to get shots of the Moon coming up behind the "Mittens" buttes, but it was closed to public access. Frack! I would have to figure something else out. I did the drive through the valley and then returned to what I determined would be the best legal location for shooting the Moon. The sky was still too bright when it first came up and it was barely visible so I waited. Then it was moving too far to the south so I noticed on the park map I had that there was a trail not too far away that might work for me. I drove there, parked and took off with the camera down the trail. It was a little better but still not perfect. Ideally I was hoping for a shot of the Moon between the left and right mittens but that didn't happen. It was still a very nice day trip and I got some good photos.

After leaving the park I stopped to take some more photos of the horses and then headed pretty much straight back to Flagstaff. I noticed a wonderful shot for sunset which I totally missed because I was convinced I would get another opportunity further on down the road. I didn't and should have turned back when I originally spotted it.