valley of the gods, utah

On our way to Monument Valley, we took a 17-mile gravel and clay surface road through Valley of the Gods, administered by the Bureau of Land Management.  Because it’s not a National Park, there would be no sticker or stamp for me!

The beautiful Cedar Mesa sandstone monoliths, pinnacles and other geological features of this enchanting area are known as a Miniature Monument Valley.  These sandstone sentinels were eroded by wind and water over eons of time, dating from some 250 million years ago.

A number of the monoliths here have been given local names.

The 1,200 foot thick sandstone was cemented by calcium carbonate interspersed with lenses of red siltstone and was deposited in huge sand dunes near the shores of an ancient sea.  Erosion by water, wind and ice over millions of years chiseled rock formations into the unique shapes seen today.

The Navajo interpret the rock formations as follows (according to Sacred Land, Sacred View by Dr. Robert S. McPherson):

Rock formations are places of power in which spirits reside, and the formations in Valley of the Gods are some of the most distinctive.  These imposing monoliths are Navajo warriors frozen in stone, who can be appealed to for protection.  They are guardians whose power and strength aid young servicemen going to war.

Though you can’t tell it in my photos, a vehement wind was blowing dust everywhere as we drove through this arid landscape.

*Saturday, May 12, 2018*

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“PHOTOGRAPHY” INVITATION:  I invite you to create a photography intention and then create a blog post for a place you have visited. Alternately, you can post a thematic post about a place, photos of whatever you discovered that set your heart afire. You can also do a thematic post of something you have found throughout all your travels: churches, doors, people reading, people hiking, mountains, patterns, all black & white, whatever!

You probably have your own ideas about this, but in case you’d like some ideas, you can visit my page: photography inspiration.

I challenge you to post no more than 20 photos (fewer is better) and to write less than 350-400 words about any travel-related photography intention you set for yourself.

While I’m in Spain walking the Camino de Santiago from August 31 – October 25, and then in Portugal from October 26 – November 6, I kindly request that if you have a photography post you’d like to share, please simply link it to the appropriate post, this one or my next one as soon as it publishes. I will try my best to read your posts while I’m on my journey, but I won’t have a computer or the time or ability to add links to my posts. 

My next scheduled photography post will be on October 18, 2018.

This will be an ongoing invitation, every first and third Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!

the ~ wander.essence ~ community

I invite you all to settle in and read a few posts from our wandering community. I promise, you’ll be inspired! See below in the comments for any links.

Thanks to all of you who wrote photography posts following intentions you set for yourself.