dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
- Messages
- 31,283
The hotel looks great. I love the lobby and your view was just stunning.
Corinna
Corinna
Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01
- Thread starter PrincessInOz
- Start date
dgbg100106
Missing the Tag Fiary
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2008
- Messages
- 79,816
WOW, the View offered some fantastic views. I think you did great on the 2nd floor!
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 108,006
I loved the night we had there. It was worth staying there just for the view.
Me too. We should see what floor Alison booked and I think she may have gone with level 3. We can compare views then.
Thanks.
The rooms were lovely at the hotel.
Leshaface
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2008
- Messages
- 6,292
17 pages later and I made it!
The grand canyon pictures you took = BREATHTAKING!
The costumes on the dancers are awesome.
Holy moly those sunset shots are so beautiful
Prickly Pear French Toast!!! Have never tried prickly pear before but it sounds and looks delicious.
Sometimes B&B's or vacation homes are the best way to vacation. We do that a lot whenever we make our way to the coast.
Those petroglyphs are COOL!
I would love to do something like the rafting you did. I guess i'm a bit of chicken to try white water rafting
I'm seriously shocked that you don't take pictures for a nature website or magazine. I'm looking at the slot canyons and they are stunning. You have the most amazing views.
Indeed.
Whoa! Thank you so much for getting down on your tummy for those shots!
I'll take one of each of those rugs at the Trading Post please!
I love that you got a picture of the drunk dudes. Was it up close when you were talking to them or from far away where you took that?
I've paid that much for a steak before....best darn steak in my life and I actually remember every bite of it
I'm going to have to try and find Verda's pancake recipe now. I'm a sucker for pancakes!
Spectacular shots of the fireworks! Definitely starting the New Year out right.
The view from your room is too amazing for words.
The grand canyon pictures you took = BREATHTAKING!
The costumes on the dancers are awesome.
Holy moly those sunset shots are so beautiful
Prickly Pear French Toast!!! Have never tried prickly pear before but it sounds and looks delicious.
Sometimes B&B's or vacation homes are the best way to vacation. We do that a lot whenever we make our way to the coast.
Those petroglyphs are COOL!
I would love to do something like the rafting you did. I guess i'm a bit of chicken to try white water rafting
I'm seriously shocked that you don't take pictures for a nature website or magazine. I'm looking at the slot canyons and they are stunning. You have the most amazing views.
Indeed.Whoa! Thank you so much for getting down on your tummy for those shots!
I'll take one of each of those rugs at the Trading Post please!
I love that you got a picture of the drunk dudes. Was it up close when you were talking to them or from far away where you took that?
I've paid that much for a steak before....best darn steak in my life and I actually remember every bite of it
I'm going to have to try and find Verda's pancake recipe now. I'm a sucker for pancakes!
Spectacular shots of the fireworks! Definitely starting the New Year out right.
The view from your room is too amazing for words.
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 108,006
17 pages later and I made it!
The grand canyon pictures you took = BREATHTAKING!
The costumes on the dancers are awesome.
Holy moly those sunset shots are so beautiful
Prickly Pear French Toast!!! Have never tried prickly pear before but it sounds and looks delicious.
Sometimes B&B's or vacation homes are the best way to vacation. We do that a lot whenever we make our way to the coast.
Those petroglyphs are COOL!
I would love to do something like the rafting you did. I guess i'm a bit of chicken to try white water rafting
I'm seriously shocked that you don't take pictures for a nature website or magazine. I'm looking at the slot canyons and they are stunning. You have the most amazing views.
Whoa! Thank you so much for getting down on your tummy for those shots!
I'll take one of each of those rugs at the Trading Post please!
I love that you got a picture of the drunk dudes. Was it up close when you were talking to them or from far away where you took that?
I've paid that much for a steak before....best darn steak in my life and I actually remember every bite of it
I'm going to have to try and find Verda's pancake recipe now. I'm a sucker for pancakes!
Spectacular shots of the fireworks! Definitely starting the New Year out right.
The view from your room is too amazing for words.
Thanks Lesha.
The prickly pear flavour was delicious! We really enjoyed it in the yoghurt, lemonade and jam.
I was about 5 meters away from the drunk dudes. Too close for me!
Thanks for the photo compliments.
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 108,006
Monument Valley - Into The Valley of the Buttes
In American cinema, there is nothing more iconic than the classic western, spaghetti or otherwise. And through the cinematography of movies, most of you will be familiar with the classic location known as Monument Valley. If not through the westerns, you might recognise it from National Lampoon or Back to the Future III or even Forest Gump!
Monument Valley (or Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, meaning valley of the rocks in Navajo) is located on the Arizona-Utah border. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163. Whether you know it or not, it is instantly recognisable from the cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor.
Whilst most people would think that John Ford or Harry Goulding or John Wetherill discovered Monument Valley, it was actually Zane Grey that first immortalised this valley in his 1922 book 'Tales of the Lonely Trails.' A flash of lightning reveals a vast valley, a strange world of colossal shafts and buttes of rock, magnificently scultptured, standing isolated and aloof, dark, weird, lonely. Seems coincidental that I would bump into Zane Grey twice in the one trip!
For me, Monument Valley will forever be associated with the image of the old west. But this great valley has been here for hundreds of millions of years. Much longer than Hollywood. Its landscape has been forged from the early Rock Mountains depositing layers of sediments, earth movements raising the basin to a plateau and always the erosion of wind and water cutting and peeling away the surface of the plateau to eventually reveal the Buttes of Monument Valley.
This is no National Park. Instead of the National Park Service infrastructure, you will find a 17-mile dirt road looping around the valley's landmarks. And on the surface from just looking at it, that dirt road is as rough as guts. Into the Valley of the Buttes we will go....but not with our hire car!
And at almost every single landmark stop, more jewellery and souvenir stands.
You can drive this 17-mile dirt road yourself; and there were many people doing so. Be aware - it is bumpy and completely ungraded; even more so when driving along it than from just looking at the road from the Visitor Centre. So at times, you'll find your car making a pretty big dip. They do estimate that to drive the 17 miles, it will take about 2 hours; if that is any indication of conditions.
We chose to do an evening 2-hour ride through the Valley with Navajo Spirit Tours. This tour company had come with really great reviews on Trip Advisor; but I guess you couldn't go wrong with any of the tour companies in Monument Valley. They all seem to set off at the same time and they all hit the same sights.
The really cool (literally!) thing for us was the way the seats were on the vans. This one was our van and we had the seats at the front in the open air. You will get a sand bath here.
In early times, the Paiutes and Dine (Navajo) lived here and it was finally given over to the Navajo Nation by Congress in 1934. They do fly a different flag here. Our guide knew some of the traders at our first stop and I was in the mood for chatting today (Yeah. OK. I'm in the mood for chatting most days!). One of the traders pointed out the Navajo Nation flag to us and explained to me. The grey area marks the land that was originally provided to them; the tan area marks the nations boundary now. Congress has been handing back more land to them over time.
One of my favourite shots from the Front Valley.
We made our way to another one of those high traffic stops in the Front Valley. This is John Ford point. John Ford directed a LOT of the western movies.
If you do a sunset tour, this is where you want to try and get your family snaps in quick. Check out the long shadows. I think that there might be a trained horse you can get on for a tourist picture if you get here earlier in the day.
Us newbies? We were too busy snapping at everything else to pay attention to those shadows.
I even took a pretty cool shot of the family....someone else's family!
In the space of minutes, it was all in shadow.
The sun had headed down below the Three Sisters formation and we missed our opportunity for time in the sun!
Still, it wasn't all bad. DH managed to snag these. I wish I remembered the name of the Butte behind us.
I have to admit that I wish we had gotten there with the sun still shining on this point. But that's just a personal thing.
Maybe next time!
We headed back in the van and drove past Rain God Mesa (I think!).
We were heading toward the Back Valley formations.
(Continued in Next Post)
In American cinema, there is nothing more iconic than the classic western, spaghetti or otherwise. And through the cinematography of movies, most of you will be familiar with the classic location known as Monument Valley. If not through the westerns, you might recognise it from National Lampoon or Back to the Future III or even Forest Gump!
Monument Valley (or Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, meaning valley of the rocks in Navajo) is located on the Arizona-Utah border. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163. Whether you know it or not, it is instantly recognisable from the cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor.
Whilst most people would think that John Ford or Harry Goulding or John Wetherill discovered Monument Valley, it was actually Zane Grey that first immortalised this valley in his 1922 book 'Tales of the Lonely Trails.' A flash of lightning reveals a vast valley, a strange world of colossal shafts and buttes of rock, magnificently scultptured, standing isolated and aloof, dark, weird, lonely. Seems coincidental that I would bump into Zane Grey twice in the one trip!
For me, Monument Valley will forever be associated with the image of the old west. But this great valley has been here for hundreds of millions of years. Much longer than Hollywood. Its landscape has been forged from the early Rock Mountains depositing layers of sediments, earth movements raising the basin to a plateau and always the erosion of wind and water cutting and peeling away the surface of the plateau to eventually reveal the Buttes of Monument Valley.
This is no National Park. Instead of the National Park Service infrastructure, you will find a 17-mile dirt road looping around the valley's landmarks. And on the surface from just looking at it, that dirt road is as rough as guts. Into the Valley of the Buttes we will go....but not with our hire car!
And at almost every single landmark stop, more jewellery and souvenir stands.
You can drive this 17-mile dirt road yourself; and there were many people doing so. Be aware - it is bumpy and completely ungraded; even more so when driving along it than from just looking at the road from the Visitor Centre. So at times, you'll find your car making a pretty big dip. They do estimate that to drive the 17 miles, it will take about 2 hours; if that is any indication of conditions.
We chose to do an evening 2-hour ride through the Valley with Navajo Spirit Tours. This tour company had come with really great reviews on Trip Advisor; but I guess you couldn't go wrong with any of the tour companies in Monument Valley. They all seem to set off at the same time and they all hit the same sights.
The really cool (literally!) thing for us was the way the seats were on the vans. This one was our van and we had the seats at the front in the open air. You will get a sand bath here.
In early times, the Paiutes and Dine (Navajo) lived here and it was finally given over to the Navajo Nation by Congress in 1934. They do fly a different flag here. Our guide knew some of the traders at our first stop and I was in the mood for chatting today (Yeah. OK. I'm in the mood for chatting most days!). One of the traders pointed out the Navajo Nation flag to us and explained to me. The grey area marks the land that was originally provided to them; the tan area marks the nations boundary now. Congress has been handing back more land to them over time.
One of my favourite shots from the Front Valley.
We made our way to another one of those high traffic stops in the Front Valley. This is John Ford point. John Ford directed a LOT of the western movies.
If you do a sunset tour, this is where you want to try and get your family snaps in quick. Check out the long shadows. I think that there might be a trained horse you can get on for a tourist picture if you get here earlier in the day.
Us newbies? We were too busy snapping at everything else to pay attention to those shadows.
I even took a pretty cool shot of the family....someone else's family!
In the space of minutes, it was all in shadow.
The sun had headed down below the Three Sisters formation and we missed our opportunity for time in the sun!
Still, it wasn't all bad. DH managed to snag these. I wish I remembered the name of the Butte behind us.
I have to admit that I wish we had gotten there with the sun still shining on this point. But that's just a personal thing.
Maybe next time!
We headed back in the van and drove past Rain God Mesa (I think!).
We were heading toward the Back Valley formations.
(Continued in Next Post)
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 108,006
(Continued from Previous Post)
Monument Valley - The Back Valley
We were now heading towards the Back Valley of Monument Valley where I believe that you need to be with a Navajo guide in order to access these restricted roads.
We stopped by a weather-beaten homestead with a rounded earthen mound on the side. I asked our guide about it. The valley is still home for many Navajo families that have their private homes and traditional hogans, without electricity or running water. Many of them make their living from tourists, but most don't want a paved road inside the park because then too many tourists would come. All the tour companies stop by this particular house to ask permission to drive through the valley. It is part of their custom.
And then we continued with our sand bath and drive past more rock formations.
Remember I said that most of the tour companies do the same route? I guess we were heading there.
We're at the Sun's Eye formation. I was too busy taking pictures and missed some of the guides explanation. I think the Navajo attach some respect to this formation.
It really is a window to infinity and beyond.
We were told to keep walking past the Sun's Eye and look at what we found!
It must have rained here before we got here. Our timing had been pretty good. Because, look what came splashing through whilst we were there. And yes, you can do a horse riding tour through the valley. This is another one of my favourite pictures from the Valley tour.
I did try for a family shot here. It was a little too dark where we were.
Somewhere near here, we found the Big Horn petroglyphs, from the Greek petros (stone) and glyphein (to carve). These petroglyphs are 10,000 years old. Our guide told me that there are more than 100 ancient Anasazi sites, some ruins and many more petroglyphs in Monument Valley. The petroglyphs, along with the Anasazi ruins, are mostly located in Mystery Valley in the restricted area of Monument Valley. They were carved by the Ancient Ones into the sandstone varnish similar to what we've already seen on the surface of so many rocks all the way from the Grand Canyon to Page. I think I have unfinished business at Monument Valley now. Someday, I'm coming back for a tour through Mystery Valley.
The colour here was amazing at this time of day.
But I think I'm being given the evil eye and the hurry up! This tour was not waiting for me.
Our next stop was the Totem Pole.
It's the remains of a highly eroded butte. Dare I say that it's no longer what it's cracked up to be? But...it's still stunning!
The Totem Pole is a 300-400 feet high scarlet rock formation that appears to be a replica of a totem pole.
Standing next to the Totem Pole are the rocks known as Yei Bi Chei. They resemble a holy figure among the Navajo people. I understand that distinguished Navajo boys/men dance for healing purposes in a very sacred nine day ceremony called the 'Night Way Ceremony'. The formations here resemble the dancers.
Time was moving on and we still had a few more places to see along this tour.
(Continued in Next Post)
Monument Valley - The Back Valley
We were now heading towards the Back Valley of Monument Valley where I believe that you need to be with a Navajo guide in order to access these restricted roads.
We stopped by a weather-beaten homestead with a rounded earthen mound on the side. I asked our guide about it. The valley is still home for many Navajo families that have their private homes and traditional hogans, without electricity or running water. Many of them make their living from tourists, but most don't want a paved road inside the park because then too many tourists would come. All the tour companies stop by this particular house to ask permission to drive through the valley. It is part of their custom.
And then we continued with our sand bath and drive past more rock formations.
Remember I said that most of the tour companies do the same route? I guess we were heading there.
We're at the Sun's Eye formation. I was too busy taking pictures and missed some of the guides explanation. I think the Navajo attach some respect to this formation.
It really is a window to infinity and beyond.
We were told to keep walking past the Sun's Eye and look at what we found!
It must have rained here before we got here. Our timing had been pretty good. Because, look what came splashing through whilst we were there. And yes, you can do a horse riding tour through the valley. This is another one of my favourite pictures from the Valley tour.
I did try for a family shot here. It was a little too dark where we were.
Somewhere near here, we found the Big Horn petroglyphs, from the Greek petros (stone) and glyphein (to carve). These petroglyphs are 10,000 years old. Our guide told me that there are more than 100 ancient Anasazi sites, some ruins and many more petroglyphs in Monument Valley. The petroglyphs, along with the Anasazi ruins, are mostly located in Mystery Valley in the restricted area of Monument Valley. They were carved by the Ancient Ones into the sandstone varnish similar to what we've already seen on the surface of so many rocks all the way from the Grand Canyon to Page. I think I have unfinished business at Monument Valley now. Someday, I'm coming back for a tour through Mystery Valley.
The colour here was amazing at this time of day.
But I think I'm being given the evil eye and the hurry up! This tour was not waiting for me.
Our next stop was the Totem Pole.
It's the remains of a highly eroded butte. Dare I say that it's no longer what it's cracked up to be? But...it's still stunning!
The Totem Pole is a 300-400 feet high scarlet rock formation that appears to be a replica of a totem pole.
Standing next to the Totem Pole are the rocks known as Yei Bi Chei. They resemble a holy figure among the Navajo people. I understand that distinguished Navajo boys/men dance for healing purposes in a very sacred nine day ceremony called the 'Night Way Ceremony'. The formations here resemble the dancers.
Time was moving on and we still had a few more places to see along this tour.
(Continued in Next Post)
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 108,006
(Continued from Previous Post)
We stopped off at another site considered sacred to the Navajo.
The Big Hogan is a cave natural arch eroded in De Chelly sandstone. I think the tour groups operate their timings so that each group has private time at the Big Hogan. Certainly our guide waited until he was sure the other group there was finished before he moved us in to the area. We had the place to ourselves.
We were invited to lie back on the ground.
Our guide played the flute here.
He also asked for a volunteer and DH was very very quick to sit up. DH got to accompany him!
The acoustics in here were fantastic and it was a very calming experience to lie back and listen to wind and tympani.
I was intrigued to see another window to the sky here.
It doesn't look like anything from the angle we're looking at here, does it?
But if you look at it from the right angle, that window to the sky is really the Hidden Eagle. I think it's obvious why this is considered a sacred site!
The next stop was the Ear of the Wind, a natural pothole arch.
Our guide walked us to high ground for the standard pictures of this natural formation. It was getting pretty dark here.
This turned out to be one of my last opportunities for a family snap in Monument Valley. So I ended up having to flash for our family snappy. So glad I did!
We pretty much started off the cascade for everyone else on our tour to take their pictures. I haven't mentioned our group yet; but there were quite a few people at the View lobby area taking the standard sunset tour on this day. We ended up splitting up into two groups and we were travelling with three couples; from Maine, Belgium and Canada. We had a great time chatting with them and have gotten all their email addresses.
Why? Would you believe that we were the only ones with a tripod in our group? We ended up taking a group photo and I've sent it out to everyone. I don't have their permissions to share it; so you won't see it here. They were so fun to share the sand bath with and chat about life in the different countries.
It was getting really dark by this stage and we were heading towards the end of our allocated tour time.
These are just general snapshots taken from the van on the way home.
But it gives you an idea of the sand bath conditions.
Sometimes I have all the luck.
The sun did set pretty quickly here and I was nearly getting ready to put my camera away. Afterall, it was getting dark enough for the bats to head out now.
It was just as well that I still had my camera out and I was playing. This one of the Three Sisters in silhouette is probably my favourite shot from this sunset tour.
I banged on the hood of the driver's cab for our guide to stop. He did stop for us to take shots. I do like this one taken maybe 2 minutes from the one above; but the light was completely different by then.
We had a great time on the standard sunset tour today. It was our first proper tour of Monument Valley and it covered off all the things that I had wanted to see. Aside from the iconic Western Movie vistas, we got the chance to see the Back Valley. If I had the opportunity to head back, I would definitely spend 2 or 3 nights here. I would choose a different tour and head out to Mystery Valley; or do a $pecialty photography tour or one that takes us away from the more standard commercial sites.
If you are going, the other decision point is around what time to do the tour. We chose the sunset tour because we figured we would have the opportunity to get pictures out in the setting sunlight. It certainly worked out that way for us. However, the flip side of the argument is that we didn't get to watch sunset over Monument Valley from the comfort of an armchair. There is some merit in the decision to go on an earlier tour and settle in to enjoy the sunset. It is a personal decision.
(Continued in Next Post)
We stopped off at another site considered sacred to the Navajo.
The Big Hogan is a cave natural arch eroded in De Chelly sandstone. I think the tour groups operate their timings so that each group has private time at the Big Hogan. Certainly our guide waited until he was sure the other group there was finished before he moved us in to the area. We had the place to ourselves.
We were invited to lie back on the ground.
Our guide played the flute here.
He also asked for a volunteer and DH was very very quick to sit up. DH got to accompany him!
The acoustics in here were fantastic and it was a very calming experience to lie back and listen to wind and tympani.
I was intrigued to see another window to the sky here.
It doesn't look like anything from the angle we're looking at here, does it?
But if you look at it from the right angle, that window to the sky is really the Hidden Eagle. I think it's obvious why this is considered a sacred site!
The next stop was the Ear of the Wind, a natural pothole arch.
Our guide walked us to high ground for the standard pictures of this natural formation. It was getting pretty dark here.
This turned out to be one of my last opportunities for a family snap in Monument Valley. So I ended up having to flash for our family snappy. So glad I did!
We pretty much started off the cascade for everyone else on our tour to take their pictures. I haven't mentioned our group yet; but there were quite a few people at the View lobby area taking the standard sunset tour on this day. We ended up splitting up into two groups and we were travelling with three couples; from Maine, Belgium and Canada. We had a great time chatting with them and have gotten all their email addresses.
Why? Would you believe that we were the only ones with a tripod in our group? We ended up taking a group photo and I've sent it out to everyone. I don't have their permissions to share it; so you won't see it here. They were so fun to share the sand bath with and chat about life in the different countries.
It was getting really dark by this stage and we were heading towards the end of our allocated tour time.
These are just general snapshots taken from the van on the way home.
But it gives you an idea of the sand bath conditions.
Sometimes I have all the luck.
The sun did set pretty quickly here and I was nearly getting ready to put my camera away. Afterall, it was getting dark enough for the bats to head out now.
It was just as well that I still had my camera out and I was playing. This one of the Three Sisters in silhouette is probably my favourite shot from this sunset tour.
I banged on the hood of the driver's cab for our guide to stop. He did stop for us to take shots. I do like this one taken maybe 2 minutes from the one above; but the light was completely different by then.
We had a great time on the standard sunset tour today. It was our first proper tour of Monument Valley and it covered off all the things that I had wanted to see. Aside from the iconic Western Movie vistas, we got the chance to see the Back Valley. If I had the opportunity to head back, I would definitely spend 2 or 3 nights here. I would choose a different tour and head out to Mystery Valley; or do a $pecialty photography tour or one that takes us away from the more standard commercial sites.
If you are going, the other decision point is around what time to do the tour. We chose the sunset tour because we figured we would have the opportunity to get pictures out in the setting sunlight. It certainly worked out that way for us. However, the flip side of the argument is that we didn't get to watch sunset over Monument Valley from the comfort of an armchair. There is some merit in the decision to go on an earlier tour and settle in to enjoy the sunset. It is a personal decision.
(Continued in Next Post)
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 108,006
(Continued from Previous Post)
Dinner at the View Restaurant
You may remember that we stopped to pick up microwaveable supplies both at Page and then at Kayenta. I got them because we weren't sure whether we would be back at the View Hotel in time for their restaurant to still be opened. I had read stories on Trip Advisor of people getting back late and the restaurant closing early; and no food around for 30 miles. Whilst DH and I could have skipped a meal, I'm pretty sure that DS would have complained about it all night.
My luck was holding. The restaurant was still opened when we got back and despite our road supplies in our room burning a hole in the refrigerator; we decided we needed to try out the food here. Our supplies would keep and we were only here for the one night. Afterall, we would be eating Navajo cuisine and it's not something that we would easily find in Australia.
We got seated within 5 minutes but service here was not good. It took our server 10 minutes to bring glasses of water to our table. In other words, we didn't see anyone serving in the restaurant for that duration!
The irony of the situation was that we DID have a carafe of ice water. Just no glasses.
We eventually placed our order and were advised that we could help ourselves to the soup and the salad bar. One visit only for the soup; but we could go back for the salad bar.
We had a chicken and wild rice soup. It was pretty tasty. Having the pesky vegetarian with us worked in our favour tonight. He got his serve of soup and DS and I got seconds.
The offering at the salad bar was reasonable.
Despite Navajo food on offer, my DS did me proud by choosing the super American burger instead. *sigh*
DH went for the Fry Bread Nachos. This was good.
The pick of the meals was mine. The Green Chilli Stew was very tasty.
It is captive market in here. There really isn't any other choice aside from heading to Gouldings Hotel. The food is tasty and it hits the mark. Just don't expect haute cuisine.
(Continued in Next Post)
Dinner at the View Restaurant
You may remember that we stopped to pick up microwaveable supplies both at Page and then at Kayenta. I got them because we weren't sure whether we would be back at the View Hotel in time for their restaurant to still be opened. I had read stories on Trip Advisor of people getting back late and the restaurant closing early; and no food around for 30 miles. Whilst DH and I could have skipped a meal, I'm pretty sure that DS would have complained about it all night.
My luck was holding. The restaurant was still opened when we got back and despite our road supplies in our room burning a hole in the refrigerator; we decided we needed to try out the food here. Our supplies would keep and we were only here for the one night. Afterall, we would be eating Navajo cuisine and it's not something that we would easily find in Australia.
We got seated within 5 minutes but service here was not good. It took our server 10 minutes to bring glasses of water to our table. In other words, we didn't see anyone serving in the restaurant for that duration!
The irony of the situation was that we DID have a carafe of ice water. Just no glasses.
We eventually placed our order and were advised that we could help ourselves to the soup and the salad bar. One visit only for the soup; but we could go back for the salad bar.
We had a chicken and wild rice soup. It was pretty tasty. Having the pesky vegetarian with us worked in our favour tonight. He got his serve of soup and DS and I got seconds.
The offering at the salad bar was reasonable.
Despite Navajo food on offer, my DS did me proud by choosing the super American burger instead. *sigh*
DH went for the Fry Bread Nachos. This was good.
The pick of the meals was mine. The Green Chilli Stew was very tasty.
It is captive market in here. There really isn't any other choice aside from heading to Gouldings Hotel. The food is tasty and it hits the mark. Just don't expect haute cuisine.
(Continued in Next Post)
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 108,006
(Continued from Previous Post)
My Stargazing View
The View Hotel offers free WiFi in their lobby. You may have noticed that there were a number of comfy chairs scattered around when I posted the pictures of the lobby last time. Guess where DS headed after dinner?
There is also a pretty decent Trading Post store at the View Hotel. DH spent a bit of time mining for silver there.
Me?
The hotel also runs John Wayne movies and uses one of the outside walls as a projector. I did contemplate heading out there to watch it. But it was time to wash that sand off me so I headed back to the room. I also wanted to enjoy the view. We had a premium second floor view and I was very happy with it. Naturally I set the camera up on the tripod. I was hoping for a picture of star trails on this trip.
Star trail photography used to be based on opening the lens of the camera for a long exposure and pointing the camera towards the stars. And as the world moved round, you'd capture the light trails from the stars in the sky. These days, you can take multiple single shots from the one spot over a long period of time and then merge the single shots together in Photoshop or a similar program to get the same effect.
In my opinion, the conditions for such photographs were near perfect in Arizona. Not a lot of ambient light from nearby cities, crisp nights and clear skies. And I would be able to take these pictures from the comfort of our balcony and warmth of the hotel room.
Except I forgot one little thing. That September moon was not finished with me! Old Luna was not in the sky when I first set up for this test shot.
The Dis will block the words I used when I came back to check the shot some 20 minutes later. There was no way I was going to get any decent star trails tonight with the light from the moon; also, having a long wide streak in the shots from the moon wasn't what I was after. So, the night just ended up being pure stargazing for me.
Well...at least at the start. I couldn't help myself after a while.
And I did sort of extend the time on some of my shots.
I stayed up to past midnight on this night; stargazing and just enjoying the view. And salivating at the thought of the star trails that might have been.
It has been another great day!
My Stargazing View
The View Hotel offers free WiFi in their lobby. You may have noticed that there were a number of comfy chairs scattered around when I posted the pictures of the lobby last time. Guess where DS headed after dinner?
There is also a pretty decent Trading Post store at the View Hotel. DH spent a bit of time mining for silver there.
Me?
The hotel also runs John Wayne movies and uses one of the outside walls as a projector. I did contemplate heading out there to watch it. But it was time to wash that sand off me so I headed back to the room. I also wanted to enjoy the view. We had a premium second floor view and I was very happy with it. Naturally I set the camera up on the tripod. I was hoping for a picture of star trails on this trip.
Star trail photography used to be based on opening the lens of the camera for a long exposure and pointing the camera towards the stars. And as the world moved round, you'd capture the light trails from the stars in the sky. These days, you can take multiple single shots from the one spot over a long period of time and then merge the single shots together in Photoshop or a similar program to get the same effect.
In my opinion, the conditions for such photographs were near perfect in Arizona. Not a lot of ambient light from nearby cities, crisp nights and clear skies. And I would be able to take these pictures from the comfort of our balcony and warmth of the hotel room.
Except I forgot one little thing. That September moon was not finished with me! Old Luna was not in the sky when I first set up for this test shot.
The Dis will block the words I used when I came back to check the shot some 20 minutes later. There was no way I was going to get any decent star trails tonight with the light from the moon; also, having a long wide streak in the shots from the moon wasn't what I was after. So, the night just ended up being pure stargazing for me.
Well...at least at the start. I couldn't help myself after a while.
And I did sort of extend the time on some of my shots.
I stayed up to past midnight on this night; stargazing and just enjoying the view. And salivating at the thought of the star trails that might have been.
It has been another great day!
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
- Messages
- 31,283
Monument valley looks really stunning. I love all the photos and my favourites are the night-time ones even if the moon got in the way. Dinner looked interesting.
Corinna
Corinna
The Dis will block the words I used when I came back to check the shot some 20 minutes later. There was no way I was going to get any decent star trails tonight with the light from the moon; also, having a long wide streak in the shots from the moon wasn't what I was after. So, the night just ended up being pure stargazing for me.
That. is one hell of a shot!
Jud
Aussie Wendy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
- Messages
- 2,298
Or stay longer do both-one evening the sunset tour, the next day Mystery Valley then watch the sunset from an armchair perhaps??? Giving me lots of ideas PIO-dangerous!!
Aussie Wendy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
- Messages
- 2,298
Interested that in the star/moon shots (love them btw) there are still the lights of a town in the distance compared to our "out west" where there is nothing forever....one of my most memorable sights - coming to Mt Isa just after dark, darkness all around, crest a hill and below a blaze of lights of the town in a basin...imagining how the early explorers would have felt if they had come across such a sight. Dilemmas now - do we do this circuit next visit or my original plans to head up to Niagara Falls?
Leshaface
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2008
- Messages
- 6,292
Wow that long skinny butte is quite beautiful in it's own way.
I think horseback riding through there would be so much fun!
Ick, sorry about the bad service. The food looks really good though so hopefully that made up for it.
Love your nighttime shots, even if it wasn't something you were hoping for
I think horseback riding through there would be so much fun!
Ick, sorry about the bad service. The food looks really good though so hopefully that made up for it.
Love your nighttime shots, even if it wasn't something you were hoping for
zanzibar138
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
- Messages
- 5,927
Sorry I got distracted with the idea of doing a horse riding tour of Monument Valley I will DEFINITELY be signing up for that one when we finally get there!
I love the family photo in front of the Ear to the Wind, and that eagle formation is awesome!
Also love the night shots, even if it wasn't what you were originally after
I will DEFINITELY be signing up for that one when we finally get there!I love the family photo in front of the Ear to the Wind, and that eagle formation is awesome!
Also love the night shots, even if it wasn't what you were originally after
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 108,006
Despite the moon making an appearance, I also love the night time ones. I was just taken by surprise at her being there. I set the camera up and she wasn't in the shot. Went for a shower and came back to see her in the sky.
If she had been up a little bit earlier in the night, I wouldn't have bothered setting the test shot up.Wow. There is so much to see...
And!!! NOW you know why cowboys ALWAYS wore bandannas!!! It wasn't just the bad guys!
Jud
Heaps to see here! Oooh! Yes, good pick-up on the bandanas.
That. is one hell of a shot!
Jud
Thank you. I've actually been very happy with my pictures since the day we left the Sedona. That one is one that I like very much.
Stay longer. Definitely.
I was surprised to see the distant glow in the pictures too. I suspect that the lights are coming from a couple of little hamlets in that direction. It's quite dark in reality...it's just that the camera sensor picks up that light with the kind of exposures I was using here.
That's quite a dilemma. There will be more people in Niagara and it depends on what other areas you're planning on seeing on that East Coast route. If you're doing the trip in Fall, then I'd be tempted to stick with the East Coast if it meant that I could build in some leaf-peeping as well.
What about doing a real Mother of All Road Trips? I think you could follow Route 66 or similar across the continent.
Wow that long skinny butte is quite beautiful in it's own way.
I think horseback riding through there would be so much fun!
Ick, sorry about the bad service. The food looks really good though so hopefully that made up for it.
Love your nighttime shots, even if it wasn't something you were hoping for
I love the night time shots too. I think it's a perfect capture of our visit out there; with the moon.
It was the first time I'd tried to take the star trails. I live in too populated a city to get that kind of dark skies to try it at home; and haven't had the opportunity to do so when I've been out in the country on short staycations.
I did think about it during all the legs of this trip. We were too tired in Sedona and the Grand Canyon; and it was too bright in Page. In hindsight, I really should have gone out in Sedona for the shot but the moon was out and it would have been too bright anyway.
Besides, I did get the shot I was after later in the the trip.
I think I'd like to try the horseback riding here next time.
Sorry I got distracted with the idea of doing a horse riding tour of Monument Valley
I love the family photo in front of the Ear to the Wind, and that eagle formation is awesome!
Also love the night shots, even if it wasn't what you were originally after
I thought the horseback riding tour would appeal to you. It's run by the native Indians and I think that there is even one company that uses Native Indian horses.
And yes, I love the night time shots here too.
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