A Night To Remember
My third visit to Monument Valley was the charm. The Navajo Tribal Park on the Arizona -Utah border is a magical place. Welcoming and mysterious at the same time, it’s iconic formations are burned into the visual fabric of the American West.
After an amazing day driving the entire loop road, we decided to return to the park to see the sunset. We shared a palpable excitement on the familiar drive from Kayenta. The lonely road funneled through grandiose outcroppings that served as mileposts to our destination. As the rental car filled with anticipation, our hope that the evening would fulfill expectations grew. This turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. Aside from the photographic opportunity, we experienced a quiet spiritual experience never to be forgotten.
The parking lot was sparsely populated and the colorful tour buses were gone. We sat on the low stone wall and waited. A curtain of approaching shadows ascended and the show was about to begin. Somewhere off to our left, someone launched a drone. There was a disturbance in our Universe. I hoped it would never return. This was sacred ground.
The vista grew darker and the silhouetted pinnacles slowly faded into the night. As we turned to head for our vehicle we froze in our tracks.
The sky was ablaze. The real show was behind us. We lingered and watched in awe as a single line of cars snaked down to the main road, their taillights like fireflies heading to the flame. We followed the burning sky until the embers were black and we were back in town.
By the way, the drone returned…
and so will we.
