I finally got to make the trip to Monument Valley that I've been wanting to make for a long time. I really wasn't sure what to expect. I had seen this place as an icon in several of my favorite western movies throughout my whole life. Monument Valley is as much a character in those movies as John Wayne, Ben Johnson, and Walter Brennan. I was afraid, briefly, that this place would not be as majestic as I had hoped and imagined. That it wouldn't hold my attention the way it does in countless movies. Was I going to feel like I had wasted the trip to the Arizona/Utah border? Was it just tricks of the camera to make it seem so amazing? Was I really going to feel like I was standing in the same place that John Wayne led the cavalry through and searched for Debbie who was stolen by the Comanch? Had I built this place up in my mind so much that it never had a chance?
As I drove up the road from Kayenta, I could suddenly see the mittens in the distance. I recognized them immediately, though I had never seen them in person. We paid our five dollars to be allowed onto the Navajo reservation and made our way to the visitor center. It happened to be closed, but we pulled over to the end of the parking lot and walked over to the edge to get our first real glimpse of Monument Valley. I was truly taken aback. This was, by far, one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. The movies do not do it justice. It was a very raw beauty. An awe-inspiring view and I knew that God had out-done himself. I knew that I had not wasted the trip. From The Searchers: "I don't believe in surrenders. Nope, I've still got my saber, Reverend. Didn't beat it into no plowshare, neither" This, I knew, was certainly a place that hasn't surrendered.
As we made our way down the winding dirt road it was hard to take in the true expansiveness of the place. With each stop, there was another amazing sight. The most impressive thing was when I saw the sign for John Ford's Point. This was it. The one stop I had been looking forward to most. As I stood there, on the same ground that John Ford filmed many of my favorite movies from, I felt like I was in the wrong place. Like I had been born in the wrong generation. Like I had finally found where I needed to be. It wasn't the most beautiful spot on the tour, but it certainly meant the most to me. Everyone thinks that I am just a John Wayne fan. It's so much more than that. I truly believe in the person that he was and the things that he stood for. People aren't like that anymore. They care too much about what other people think to stand up for what they truly believe in.
After we made the 17 mile round-trip through the area, I was excited to hear that there was more in store for me. Across the road, stood the cabin that John Wayne used in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. I could envision him walking out of the cabin as Captain Nathan Brittles and walking off to lead the cavalry on one last mission.
As I drove up the road from Kayenta, I could suddenly see the mittens in the distance. I recognized them immediately, though I had never seen them in person. We paid our five dollars to be allowed onto the Navajo reservation and made our way to the visitor center. It happened to be closed, but we pulled over to the end of the parking lot and walked over to the edge to get our first real glimpse of Monument Valley. I was truly taken aback. This was, by far, one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. The movies do not do it justice. It was a very raw beauty. An awe-inspiring view and I knew that God had out-done himself. I knew that I had not wasted the trip. From The Searchers: "I don't believe in surrenders. Nope, I've still got my saber, Reverend. Didn't beat it into no plowshare, neither" This, I knew, was certainly a place that hasn't surrendered.
As we made our way down the winding dirt road it was hard to take in the true expansiveness of the place. With each stop, there was another amazing sight. The most impressive thing was when I saw the sign for John Ford's Point. This was it. The one stop I had been looking forward to most. As I stood there, on the same ground that John Ford filmed many of my favorite movies from, I felt like I was in the wrong place. Like I had been born in the wrong generation. Like I had finally found where I needed to be. It wasn't the most beautiful spot on the tour, but it certainly meant the most to me. Everyone thinks that I am just a John Wayne fan. It's so much more than that. I truly believe in the person that he was and the things that he stood for. People aren't like that anymore. They care too much about what other people think to stand up for what they truly believe in.
After we made the 17 mile round-trip through the area, I was excited to hear that there was more in store for me. Across the road, stood the cabin that John Wayne used in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. I could envision him walking out of the cabin as Captain Nathan Brittles and walking off to lead the cavalry on one last mission.
After I got home, I decided it was time to watch some of those movies again. I popped in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Stagecoach, and The Searchers. I was able to watch these movies, which I have seen countless times, in a new light. Monument Valley was more a part of those movies than they had ever been before.
John Wayne once said "Tomorrow hopes we've learned something from yesterday"
I certainly have.
