Waiting for the Light in Eastwood’s Playground

Do you remember the scene in the 1975 movie The Eiger Sanction where a young Clint Eastwood was supposedly “training” in the desert Southwest so he could later assassinate someone while climbing the Eiger in Switzerland? Stay with me—his character was that of a clandestine out-of-shape retired CIA agent, dragged back into service to right a wrong.

Anyway, our Navajo guide in Monument Valley pointed out the very spire where Eastwood’s training montage was filmed. I don’t recall much else the guide told the Princess and me, but that little factoid stuck. Worth the price of admission, don’t you think?

The only way to see the best of Monument Valley is with a Navajo guide. We met ours an hour before sunrise so he could take us into the restricted area of the park. (Pro tip: you can’t even enter the valley before sunrise without a guide.) We reached our spot about twenty minutes before the sun cleared the horizon. We were alone—just us, the guide, and a lot of sandstone.

At first, I saw nothing that would make a print worthy photograph. The lighting was just flat. I thought my guide must have missed the part of our reservation where I was looking for dramatic scenery. I figured my guide just didn’t see what photographers come here hoping to find. I clicked a few half-hearted shots to be polite and began packing up. He quietly told me to wait. So, I waited.

A few minutes later, the desert ignited—bright orange light spilling across the buttes and mesas as the sun climbed a few more degrees. The glow lasted maybe five or ten minutes, then slipped away behind a few clouds.  I worked quickly, then just stood there in awe, hoping my camera and I had done the moment justice.

Dennis

Campground Notes, Traffic & Dust, Tour Tips:

The Monument Valley campground, The View, delivers exactly what you’d expect here: a knockout view. Beyond that, it’s basically a long, gravel parking lot with no electricity and not much charm. Still, it makes a convenient base for a couple of nights if your goal is to tour the valley. The camp host was friendly, which helped balance the bare-bones setup.

Two views of the campground.

The view of sunset from our campsite.

We visited in early spring, ahead of the peak season, yet the 17-mile public road was already bumper-to-bumper from gate opening until late afternoon. Dust hung in the air all day—hardly surprising in a desert on dirt roads, but still worth mentioning if you’re not fond of grit in your teeth. I think April is about the best time to visit. If you book a private guide, which I highly recommend, make your expectations clear. I asked to leave very early, hoping for first light and fewer people. It worked: only one other photographer and guide shared the valley with us. Later in the day, you trade solitude for haze—dust in the air can make for dramatic sunsets but steals some of the clarity from those classic rock silhouettes. We used Simpson’s Trail Handlers to book our guide.

John Ford Point

Our guide took us to see a few petroglyphs in the restricted area of the park.

If you happen to be driving through Kayenta on your way to Monument Valley from the south, or even if you have to detour a little, the food at Amigo Cafe is excellent. The Princess found it online, and the food and service were better than all of the good reviews indicated they would be. When we pulled up, there were three Class A rigs, a Class C, and a travel trailer wedged into the small parking lot.