Postcards From the West: Monument Valley

Highway 163 stretches into Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park like a giant runway leading to the red buttes, mesas and grand vistas.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Monument Valley sits along the Utah-Arizona border on land in the Navajo Nation reservation.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A caravan of tourists, driven by their Navajo guides, head out for an evening drive along the bumpy, unpaved 17-mile loop around Monument Valley.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Two of the drivers at the Navajo-owned Guided Vehicle Tours booth wait for customers at daybreak in Monument Valley.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The iconic buttes of Monument Valley and the surrounding areas are enhanced by the clouds from a passing storm.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Visitors to Monument Valley walk along the flat shelf known as John Ford’s Point where the legendary director shot several of his epic western films.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The sun rises over the buttes and mesas of Monument Valley.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Photographers with all types of cameras stop at sunset to capture their own personal views of Monument Valley.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Two visitors to Monument Valley pose on the red sandstone rock formations while a friend takes their picture just after sunset.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The sun sets over Monument Valley.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The Totem Pole formation juts above an old set of footprints on the red sand dunes in Monument Valley while a storm approaches from the east.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A bird pokes around for food in the rocks near the View Hotel in Monument Valley.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A perfectly good sunset is obscured by the clouds of a passing storm.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Pools of water from a recent storm mix with red sand to create great reflecting ponds.   (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A puddle left by a passing storm reflects the buttes in Monument Valley.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The Navajos call this rock formation the Teardrop, a shape that gracefully frames the buttes and mesas of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Another look through the Teardrop rock formation framing the buttes of Monument Valley.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Visitors to the Navajo-owned View Hotel enjoy a snack on the observation deck with a million-dollar view of Monument Valley.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Visitors to the View Hotel relax in the lobby next to a western-themed statue.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

One of the buttes in Monument Valley is reflected in the windows of the View Hotel.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Goulding’s Lodge is one of the oldest in Monument Valley with a trading post, restaurant and hotel.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

An alternative to the lodging in Monument Valley, the Kayenta Monument Valley Inn is a 45-minute drive away in neighboring Kayenta, Ariz.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

If you get tired of the food being served in Monument Valley, the Blue Coffee Pot Restaurant is an alternative in neighboring Kayenta, Ariz.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Navajo tribal member Ned Black sells authentic, hand-made Navajo jewelry for his family members from a stand at John Ford’s Point in Monument Valley.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Navajo Adrian Jackson with his trusty horse, Pistol, awaits the next group of tourists eager to snap pictures at John Ford’s Point.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Navajo Adrian Jackson sits atop Pistol at John Ford’s Point. Jackson charges $5 for tourists to sit on his horse and to take pictures with a backdrop that legendary movie director John Ford used in several of his epic westerns.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A visitor to John Ford’s Point taking a picture atop a Navajo horse with the vistas of Monument Valley providing a backdrop.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Navajo matriarch Linda Jackson talks about raising her children, losing a son to a lightning strike and living off the land in Monument Valley. Jackson and her family sell food, mostly to tourists from her sandstone-colored trailer near John Ford’s Point.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Monument Valley stretches across the Utah-Arizona border on land characterized by majestic red buttes and mesas.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Anasazi ruins in Monument Valley are reached via a short hike with the aid of a Navajo guide.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)