It seems that every rock formation in the Monument Valley area has a name. Now, a few weeks later, it's difficult to remember them all. Harry, our guide, for the tour, could rattle them off easily, having long ago committed each one to memory. The passage of time, and the forces of wind, water, and ice, have left their mark on this grand landscape. I felt it a privilege the opportunity to experience it first-hand, taking in these iconic views and making a few images, both in the synapses in my brain as well as the card in my camera.

There's certainly no shortage of interesting shapes that have been carved into the Shinarump and Moenkopi Formations, the de Chelly Sandstone, and the underlying Organ Rock Shale. Oh yeah, the rock formations have a unique nomenclature as well. Those crazy geologists...! Enjoy some images of a few here, and don't forget to click on the image to see it full size. All of these were taken on our tour of Mystery Valley. Glad to have you along for the ride...

As soon as you see Face Rock, there's no doubt why it is named as such. Whether from a distance or up close, the unique shape of this rock is quite telling, having been carved by the hands of a great Sculptor. The mid-afternoon sun was harsh, but a few nice puffy clouds in the deep blue sky made a nice backdrop for these images. As I hiked up close to the base of the rock formation, I noticed a particularly wispy cloud taking shape right overhead. From this angle, the cloud gives the appearance of smoke coming from the top of the rock.

Being a sucker for lots of vivid color, I don't do a lot of black and white conversions of my images. However, I thought this one might be a good candidate. The blues have been toned down in this one to provide a more dramatic scene and make the rock and 'smoke' seem to pop off the page.

From the images above, you can see that vegetation is sparse in this arid climate. Believe it or not, the image of this colorful leaf was taken near the base of Face Rock.

There are several natural arches in this area and we got to visit a couple of them. I'm sure there is a story behind the names for these, but I'm not sure how that story goes. Both of these are known as pothole arches, formed by chemical weathering from water that accumulates in depressions on top of the formation and gradually eats through the underlying layers of sandstone.

As the day drew to a close, we were sure to set up on a bluff overlooking Mystery Valley to capture a sunset scene of this vast open space. From the petrified dunes capped with saucer-shaped rocks in the foreground to the buttes and mesas in the distance, there is little doubt that we were in the backcountry.

And another black and white of this great landscape...

The sun had long settled down for the night, but the high clouds were still showing some nice color that just begged to be captured in this image.

More to come...

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Face Rock & Honeymoon Arch