Utah Road Trip: Drive to Monument Valley (Day 6/10)

Trip Date: Dec 24, 2017

I had originally planned on heading down to the Needles District of Canyonlands NP for a short backpacking trip immediately after Island in the Sky but I figured I should probably give the snow some time to melt.  Instead I decided headed directly to Monument Valley and would stop in the Needles district on the way back to Boulder.

La Sal Mountains outside of Moab

Wilson Arch

Thanks to Obama, Bears Ears National Monument now stretches over nearly the entire region (away from the highway) between Canyonlands NP and Monument Valley.  In the map below, the each of the three management districts are colored separately (Dark Canyon Wilderness, BLM and La Sal Nat'l Forest).

Definitely not in Boulder anymore. (outside of Blanding, Utah).

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Shortly after going through the town of Bluff I went through one of the most surreal areas I've ever been too in my life.  I really couldn't believe the contrast of the colors between the red mesas and the blue/purple sky.  There's a nearby area called "Valley of the Gods" which seems like a perfect name for this place.  

This area was unbelievable.

Mexican Hat Rock (just outside the town of Mexican Hat)

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Monument Valley

Once Monument Valley came into view I was completely stunned.   It definitely lived up to my expectations.  Yes, the pictures below are somewhat redundant but it was hard to choose between them.