Monument Valley

We were in 4 states in one day today! The objective for today was to ride through the iconic Monument Valley. We left Cortez just after 8:00am and took the 160 South. We rode through the Ute Reservation and were struck by the size of the Casino at Ute Mountain. This is how many Native American Reservations make money these days - legalised gambling. Not much seems to have been invested in roading, as the road surface was quite rough in comparison to other highways we had been on.

We rode past the junction to the Four Corners Monument, which is the point that the 4 states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico intersect. I would have liked to have stopped for a photo, but a roadside sign stated the monument is closed to the public due to major re-construction work.

We turned on to 162 and rode through the Aneth Indian Reservation. The area is quite poor going by the modest housing and old pick-up trucks parked in most yards. We crossed into the state of Utah and turned on to the 163 at Bluff for the ride down to Mexican Hat. Just past Mexcian Hat and after a long rise we crested the hill and laid out before us was what we had came to see - Monument Valley. This famous landmark of buttes and mesas has been the backdrop for many Western movies. John Ford filmed the classic Western 'Stagecoach' here along with many others.

Monument Valley is part of the Tribal Park of the Navajo people and you can stop and browse at roadside stalls where you can buy Native American jewelry and craft work. We stopped for photos along the valley and a group of young Italians came up to us and requested photos with the bike (which I was happy to oblige).

We carried on down 163 to the town of Kayenta in Arizona for lunch and fuel. We then branched off on to the 160 East/Interstate 64 and down the road aways crossed the state line into New Mexico. We checked in to a motel in Farmington for the night after 454 km's of great riding.