Day 8

 I know this is picture dumping at its finest.  There were so many cool things we saw on our tour with Tony our Native American guide to Monument Valley.


This is the Boot

This one is called the Totem Pole from the base to the top is 505ft. tall.  Clint Eastwood climbed the side of this for the movie Eiger.


The arch is referred to as the Ear of the winds.  When winds blow above 40 mph it plays a tone. This is what Tony referred to as the Artsy pic of the Ear.


Slightly better pic of the ear of the winds


Goats carved into the stones


This is called the eye of the Valley.  If we were to have been there at 2:45pm the sun would have been in line with they eye and cast a light onto the ground right through the center of the eye


Fun pic with Timers!  Needless to say we did not get this pic on the first try. Nor did we get it in the suggested 3 second timer.  We had to wait in line to try our pic for a third time and we got smart and used the 10 second timer.


We went inside of Logans arch with two other tour groups and listened to our guides tell us stories and sing songs in there native language.  The lady sang of the Unity of the Navajo Nation. Our Guide Tony sang a song of the warrior before going out to battle or hunt.  The third guide sang us a song of healing for a wounded or traumatized warrior returning from battle.
Below is our guide Tony singing.






Carved into this rock is an image of the flute player Kokopelli.  He is often thought to have had a humpback because the sack that he carried on his back was never defined and it always looked as if he was hunched over and playing his flute.

The story of Kokopelli was he was a healer and traveled around the country and whenever he seen someone sick he would get into his sack and give herbal remedies to the ill person and would play soothing healing music for the person. When he was done the person would no longer be ill and would be able to get up and walk away.

The people of the tribes tried to figure out what they could do for him.  Kokopelli did not need money or things so one night at the tribal council meeting they decided they would pay Kokopelli by allowing them to sleep with their eldest daughter as a thank you for all he had done.  

This went very well, until all of the daughters ended up pregnant.  This is how Kokopelli wound up being more than just a healer he was now known as the deity of fertility.

Crazy shit if you ask me.  I think I would have offered him a meal or a place to sleep. Just Saying!









I was so excited when I saw that we would have an opportunity to sit on the horse and have our picture taken on the same bluff as the Marlboro man.  Lucky for me no one took video. Me getting up here was a sight to see.


The Marlboro Man





This is called the Three Sisters.  One would think the three rocks represents three sisters but no, they had to be difficult. The one on the left is the middle sister holding the younger sister.  The rock in the middle had nothing to do with the sisters theme and the one on the right is the third and eldest sister.


Right Mitten or the West Mitten Butte



Artsy pic pointed out to us by Tony



The King sitting in his throne



Adobe Hut.  There are six original families that still live in Monument Valley








This is called the Eagle. The smallest circle is the eagles eye and to the left and lower is his beak.




Just a few of the movie scenes filmed here in Monument Valley

Back to the Future 3



National Lampoons Vacation



Clint Eastwood Eiger


Bonus 
Metallica performed here


On top of this Butte


Forest Gump
This is actually still on Monument Valley property but is on the main stretch in Utah at Mile marker 13 in Utah


Numerous John Wayne movies
Side note on Westerns.
There was a couple in the 1920's named Harry Goulding and his wife nicknamed "Mike" they wanted to make an outpost on the outside of the reservation.  When the depression hit in the 1930's it was devastating to the reservation. He knew the director John Ford and convinced him that Monument Valley would be the perfect setting for a western movie. John Ford came and saw the place and 10 days later they began filming "Stagecoach" which was the first of many westerns filmed here 










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