Four Corners / Monument Valley

Well after Mesa Verde, road trip. Heading towards the Grand Canyon, but taking more of an indirect route through Utah. Starting in Buff Utah, you take hwy 163 to Arizona, but first I stopped at Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona meet. Well all I can say about the Four Corners stop, basically a rip off. First the Four Corners is on Navajo land so they control access, there is a $8 per person fee to enter, yes I paid it, my bad. Well all that is there is the Four Corner monument and about 32 Native American stands selling Native American trinkets. A true tourist trap. Anyway, continued to Bluff Utah, was going to stay there for the night, but decided to drive to Arizona instead.

This stretch of highway has some of the more iconic sites of the west with all the rock formations. Pictures doesn’t do it justice, so I added a couple of videos. You have Valley of the Gods, which I did not enter, was concerned about the road. Mexican Hat and many other formations. This is also the famous road from Forest Gump when he stopped running. From what I read the shot was done at mile marker 3, but the signs and people were at mile marker 10. When I look at the movie pic, yes it was mile marker 3, the Navajo must not wanted people stopping closer. Also they had a cabin from john Wayne movie, I learn my lesson and didn’t pay to go inside and I didn’t even recognize the name of the movie. Lastly there is Monument Valley which was John Ford’s favorite place to shoot western movies. But you had to hire an Indian escort to see the valley, I skipped it, I saw enough rock formations during my drive.