Any hints for Monument Valley vacation?

[f5fstop]

Stupid me. I just noted after posting this is an old post. I'll leave it up just in case someone wants to view. Sorry, should have looked at the original posting before posting.

Originally Posted by cjseliga

I forgot to mention in my previous post about things to do.

For Monument Valley it's $20/car and you can drive the Valley Drive, which is ~17 miles long, 13 miles is a one way loop. It's a graded dirt road, they recommend four wheel drive, but as long as it hasn't rained (June is the driest month anyways) you should be fine in a normal car. Most people go 15 mph and you can pull over and take as many pictures as you like.

If you are going to stay in Moab for a few nights, you have Arches and Canyonlands right there.

I've been to Arches, 4 times, I believe, and hiked every trail at least twice. It now costs $30/car to get in (I always get the annual $80 NPS pass) and will be crazy busy during June, when you're there. I personally love being at Delicate Arch (the Arch on Utah's license plate) at sunset, when the sun turns the arch bright red during "magic hour". The hike out to Delicate is rated difficult, it's 3 miles round trip and I think you gain 500 feet in elevation. I didn't find it that bad of a hike.

Other trails in Arches, less demanding, The Windows (1 mile RT), Double Arch (0.5 miles RT), and Landscape Arch (1.6 miles RT). Arches and all of southeastern UT is very photogenic, your husband will be in heaven!

Canyonlands has 3 different sections, the easiest and most visited is Island in the Sky ($30/car) just north of Moab. There's some trails, but most people just drive the scenic road and stop at the various overlooks to take pictures. Basically the Green River is on one side and the Colorado River on the other and you can see where they meet. I think of it as a "mini Grand Canyon".

Back to lodging, for Monument Valley, Kayenta, Mexican Hat, Bluff and the Valley itself, would be your best options. It all depends on what you want to spend and the availability. There's some hole-in-the-wall restaurants here and there that you can try.

I have never seen sunlight turn Delicate arch bright red, could you tell me the time of day, sunrise, set, afternoon, etc. Would love to go back to get the shot. Just curious, I lived there for many years and did the delicate arch walk many times; both via the normal route and the back route which entails some climbing.

I have taken shots of the arch at sunrise, sunset and mid afternoon so there are many hours I will have missed.
This is early morning...


This is the famous sunset shot where people are lined up like that line into the super bowl...


If you stay longer the sun does reflect off the LaSal mountains better and I cannot find that shot at this time.

There is an arch in Canyonlands that is very well noted for the early morning sunlight reflecting off the bottom of the arch turning it bright red...Mesa Arch...





However, in my opinion, the best two arches in the Moab area are not in Arches NP...

Corona Arch a nice hike with a small easy climb, off Hwy 279


Or Pritchett arch, which does take a serious 4x4 and some steep hiking to get to...


(All photographs were taken and owned by me. I have original copyrighted digital files via a Nikon camera or in the cases of the delicate/mesa arch photos; original slides.)

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

Stupid me. I just noted after posting this is an old post. I'll leave it up just in case someone wants to view. Sorry, should have looked at the original posting before posting.

With such gorgeous photography, it's never too late to post.

[kavm]

Beautiful! Will look for Corona arch next time we are in the area.

[ABQ2015]

Well the OP is not going to MV until this June so it is not that old of a post. I'm headed there next weekend on my way to Zion NP so am glad the thread got bumped. But am concerned after reading cjseliga's posting because it is supposed to rain Wed-Friday and I don't have 4WD. I may have to schedule a van or jeep tour or postpone that part of the trip. Last fall I went to Hovenweep, Natural Bridges, Capitol Reef, and Bryce and was blown away by the beauty of Utah. Now have upcoming trips scheduled for Zion and Canyonlands/Arches before the weather gets too hot. But all the rain is making it difficult.