ARIZONA WHIRLWIND, Part 2: Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley, Guest Post by Owen Floody

White House Ruins, Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

Our friend Owen Floody traveled in Arizona last September.  Owen recently retired from a career of teaching and research at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He has always been an avid photographer and in his retirement has taken numerous trips that allow him to pursue his passion. Here is the second part of a short reflection on his trip and some of his excellent photographs.
 
At Canyon de Chelly (pronounced Shay), I was determined to catch a sunrise at the White House ruins, the only ruins on the canyon floor that you can visit on your own rather than as part of a guided tour.  But I arrived at the ruins much too early, failing to anticipate how long it takes the sun to clear the canyon walls.  This forced me to spend several hours at these ruins, reducing the time available later to visit viewpoints on the canyon rim. 

View into Canyon de Chelly from the Canyon Rim

On the other hand, I did catch the initial illumination of the ruins and also enjoyed views of the sun's rays playing upon higher parts of the canyon walls that I passed up on the hike down to the ruins.  And I didn't completely miss views of other parts of the canyon.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona

Guided tours of Canyon de Chelly struck me as optional, something to be done on a second or third day but perhaps not as the top priority.  In contrast, I made full use of tours at Monument Valley, going on most of those offered by my campground hosts (Gouldings).  In particular, I began with a Full Moon tour, having planned my trip so that I would be in the valley within three days of a full moon.  I found this pleasant but not compelling.  You see the moon as it rises behind the Totem Pole (a famous rock spire), but do not have a chance to see other formations illuminated by the moon.  On my next day, I went on a Sunrise tour followed immediately by a more general Deluxe tour.  The only one I missed was the Sunset tour. 

Moonrise behind the Totem Pole, Monument Valley

Of the three guided tours of Monument Valley, I most enjoyed the Sunrise tour, despite its 5:30 am start.  This resembled the moon tour in that it began by taking us to a point from which we could view the sun rising behind the Totem Pole.  What I enjoyed even more, though, were the many views we had of other rock formations glowing in the early sunlight.  Some such views were prominent from our initial vantage point near the Totem Pole whereas others emerged on our way out of the park, as we stopped at several other viewpoints.  

(Continued next week: Part 3, Antelope Canyons and the Grand Canyon)