We left Zion fairly early in the morning. I was looking forward to our next stop; Monument Valley...after all, my late Mom was a big time Western fan, and I recognized photos from Monument Valley as scenes from some of her favorite Westerns. Plus, Monument Valley, located in both Arizona and Utah and on the Navajo Nation Reservation is not quite as heavily visited as other places we've been to.
We headed out the East exit of Zion National Park, down the 89 thru Kanab. We decided to stop in Page, which we were somewhat familiar with, to grab some provisions and for a coffee break. We took a short stop at the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge before heading into Page.
A nice little stop to stretch our legs.....
In Page we stopped to fuel up and then at the Safeway for water and a couple of other items; then drove over to LP Espresso for our caffeine fix.
Part espresso/coffee bar, part wine/beer pub, the young ladies were very friendly, though our Espresso and my Cold Brew (???) took a while.
There's not much choice for decent coffee in Page......so we took what we could get.
LP Espresso
612 North Navajo Drive
Page, AZ 86040
From here we headed down the 98, then to the 160 East. At the point where we needed to take the 163 (no, not THAT 163) North to get to Monument Valley is the town of Kayenta, which is part of the Navajo Nation. I had marked off a place to grab lunch, Amigo Cafe, mainly because I wanted some Fry Bread.
The restaurant is located past the usual fast-food suspects, right as you take the left onto highway 163.
This small restaurant was doing some steady business. They had some great Covid protocols in place and we had to actually sign in and leave our contact information for contact tracing. The Navajo Nation was hit hard by Covid-19 and at one time had the highest per-capita infection rate of COVID-19 in the US. But due to their response they've beat back Covid and according to several articles I've read is now one of the safest areas with regards to Covid in the nation.
All the tables were cleaned super well, all employees (and customers we saw) wore masks. The staff was friendly and warm.
The Missus got Pork Posole with Fry Bread ($10).
Which was on the bland side and really needed more porkiness and seasoning. The base also needed more chili paste as this was lacking in the fruity-smokiness of dried Guajillo and Ancho chilies. The Fry Bread was light, crisp, and yeasty, reminding the Missus of youtiao.
She was also provided with some pretty plain guacamole and chips.
I got the "Navajo Taco" ($11).
Basically Fry Bread (think of it as a unsweetened funnel cake if you will) with a smear of refried beans, shredded lettuce, onion, and tomato. A side of Spanish rice was also provided. Very Ameri-Mex toppings.
Well, the fry bread was a bit oily, but yeasty, and I got to try it out.
The folks working seemed to know all the other customers, so I'm guessing quite a few locals eat here. The service was very nice and efficient and I thought prices were quite reasonable.
Amigo Cafe
US Hwy 163
Kayenta, AZ 86033
From Kayenta you head up Highway 163 and then take a right on Indian Route 42 right after crossing the border to Utah. Taking the right on the roundabout takes you right back into Arizona, take a left, you're in Utah....straight ahead is Mexican Hat. Many folks stay at Goulding's Lodge down Monument Valley Road. But I decided that we should stay in the only hotel in Monument Valley; the View Hotel. There's only one entrance to Monument Valley, you drive up to the booth and pay the entrance fee, $20 per vehicle. We got to the hotel; which was also under Covid restrictions, so the restaurant was closed and so forth, a bit early. So of course the Missus wanted to "stretch Her legs"....... There are two hikes in the area; the Wildcat Trail and the Lee Cly trail, a 2 mile loop that we took. These are the only two hikes you could take without a Navajo guide. The trail starts just East of the hotel.
And yes, Monument Valley was every bit as beautiful as I thought.
From the left to the right; the "West Mitten", the "East Mitten", and "Merrick Butte".
A wonderful, pretty easy hike to the South of the hotel.
Upon completing the hike our room was ready. The View has hotel rooms, cabins, and a camping area. I took a top floor room for both this view at dusk.
And the night sky.....it was so totally dark, we saw so many falling stars......
Because of Covid, the hotel restaurant was closed, but bag meals, basically brown bag sandwiches and chips were provided. We were enjoying the view so much that we really didn't fdeel like driving out for dinner. Also, no alcohol can be sold on the Navajo Nation.
We walked over to the gift shop before picking up our sack meal. We really liked the gift shop and ended up buying some certified Navajo items as gifts.
It was so quiet, we slept so soundly, and got up before sunrise the next morning, because we wanted to see this.
Beautiful, isn't it?
We had a full day planned out with a Navajo guide and were really looking forward to that!
Thanks for stopping by!
Postscript (04/18/2022) - this one is for FOY Junichi who said he enjoys the Westerns filmed in Monument Valley:
Too bad the frybread wasn't better. I would have expected more in Kayenta. One of my favorite dishes is a beef green chili stuffie, although that is more new Mexican than Navajo nation food.
In any case, that area is probably my favorite place in the US to visit, and I used to live in Cortez, which made it easy to visit.
Posted by: Dereck | Friday, 15 April 2022 at 06:20 PM
beautiful sunrise!
Posted by: kat | Friday, 15 April 2022 at 08:39 PM
Cortez Colorado Dereck? Man, that's near the Four Corners isn't it? Must have been wonderful living there. I will say that the fry bread at Amigo Cafe was much better than the version at Goulding's we had the next day.
It was so beautiful and mesmerizing Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 15 April 2022 at 09:33 PM
Yes, Cortez is the most southwestern town in CO, and is adjacent to Mesa Verde, which is also always worth a visit. It's a different world there and a pretty neat place to live.
Posted by: Dereck | Saturday, 16 April 2022 at 06:36 AM
Whoa; Mesa Verde has been on our "list" for a while Dereck. We passed on it during this trip because it was winter. Now I know who to ask for recs before we visit!
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 16 April 2022 at 05:16 PM
Monument Valley looks lovely.
Posted by: Soo | Sunday, 17 April 2022 at 07:58 AM
It was beautiful Soo!
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 17 April 2022 at 10:56 AM
The Searchers and Stagecoach are some of my favorite Western movies. Need to visit one of these days once fuel prices come back to earth.
Posted by: Junichi | Monday, 18 April 2022 at 11:04 AM
Awesome Junichi! I went ahead and added a Youtube Video at the end of the post just for you! Enjoy!
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 18 April 2022 at 12:09 PM