Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Monument Valley...our Mythology

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During our trip, Monument Valley stroke us with its minimalist landscape and its quietness, far away from everything in the middle of Navajo reservation.
Getting close to it, I was extremelly impatient to discover this mythic landscape. Will it be worth what I imagined?

We arrived there at the end of the day, at the perfect hour when the sun sets down, red light was illuminating rocks around. Clouds, very important for the making up of this landscape, were turning purple; thunderstorm, far away behind the Mesas completed the show.





The view is so breathtaking that it was impossible to continue driving, we pulled away along the road, and let the evening time slowly roll, comfortably settled on the flat roof of our bus, drinking a few tough drinks. Night came, a skinny dog attracted by the smell of our barbecue became our night companion.
Later in the night, the wind rose, I was haunted by my dreams about this place.
In the morning it was quiet again, it was time for us to hit the road for a long 550 miles trip to Wendover, Utah at the shore of the big salt lake.







In 1923, Harry Goulding, opened a trading post somewhere around and a few years later went to see John Ford in Hollywood to convince him to make movies there.
More than 60 movies have been shot on this location, from "Stagecoach" in 1939 to "2001, a Space Odyssey" including, of course, "Easy Rider".






I can't resist, look at 3:30




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