April 3rd
Today Monument Valley is on the agenda — a unique national park with its spectacular red rock formations. We first stop at the Visitor Center to find out what you can do there in a single day. Armed with great tips, we head toward Mexican Hat, a small town named after a rock formation that looks just like a Mexican sombrero. We follow the Visitor Center's recommendation and drive through the Valley of the Gods — a truly breathtaking valley accessible only via an unpaved sand-and-gravel dirt road for 18 miles. The entrance is on the left side just past Mexican Hat. At the end of the valley the road climbs steeply along a near-vertical cliff edge via extreme switchbacks — again on a gravel track — up to the plateau. The view from the top is stunning!

But we want to press on today. We also visit Natural Bridges National Monument, located about 40 miles further north. Here you can comfortably drive a loop by car and hike from one viewpoint or another to the three Natural Bridges (Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo Bridge). You can complete the loop in about an hour, including shorter hikes such as the one to Kachina Bridge — though it's worth planning more time here as well.

We drive back the same way over the cliff edge to Monument Valley, where — since it's already after 5 p.m. — we no longer need to pay an entrance fee. There's a viewing platform, and you can drive an unpaved route through the valley either as a self-drive like us or on a guided tour in an open-air pick-up truck (very sandy due to the wind). The evening light on the rock formations, each carrying different meanings in Navajo culture, is especially beautiful!

Anyone with extra time can drive about 18 km to Kayenta and the Navajo National Monument, which has three sites with cliff dwellings where Kayenta Anasazi Native Americans lived some 800 years ago. Unfortunately only one cliff dwelling can be viewed from an observation platform.

We arrive in Page late in the evening, grab dinner at Dennis' Diner (open 24 hours) and fall into bed completely exhausted.