The greatest American director of all time, John Ford, said it is the "most complete, beautiful, and peaceful place on earth." John Wayne, Ford's go-to actor, said when he first saw the place, “So this is where God put the West.” The place they are referring to is the most famous and iconic to American Westerns: Monument Valley. Monument Valley is in Utah in Navajo Nation. Famous movies filmed there include "The Searchers," "National Lampoon's Vacation," and many others. Fun fact: Forrest Gump stopped his long run in the Valley.
Many others stop there, too. There are parts of the Valley that are available for self-touring folks, but most of the Valley is only accessible by a Navajo guide. Monument Valley Tours, in operation since the 90s, is a famous tour company in the area. Formally known as Totem Pole Tours, after a monument in the valley, it was formed by the parents of Kelly Bedoni and his siblings, who are slowly taking over the family business. "I've been working here since high school and my siblings and I are getting used to being a larger part of the business," Bedoni says.
Bedoni's father got the idea from working with his mother in her tour business. "There was a German Professor in a tour once," Bedoni recalls, "And when the professor heard my dad's perfect pronunciation of the word rattlesnake in German, the professor chose him as a guide and they became friends." The friendship blossomed into his dad eventually going to Berlin to attend ITB Berlin, the most famous International Tourist Convention, and the company gained a lot of agencies through this process.
“Monument Valley is a unique place, a Holy Land for many, and it's one of those one-of-a-kind locations people need to experience for themselves.”
"We give tours to large bus groups, tour agencies, but we also do small groups like families that are passing through," Bedoni says. He says the most famous tour they have is the 2.5 hour trip that goes 25 miles into restricted backcountry. "The tour visits a small village where the Navajo show weaving techniques and other cultural things," he says. Bedoni says that the sunrise and sunset tours are also very popular, due to the photographic nature of the area. "The sun changes the color of the rocks and it is very beautiful."
The interesting thing about Monument Valley is the connection to the owners and occupants of the people that reside on the land - the Navajo. “The Anasazi were here for a long time and have a lot of history here,” Bedoni says. Bedoni notes that a lot more of Anasazi artifacts and relics are present in Mystery Valley, about 20 minutes south of Monument Valley. About a 4 hour tour, the trip to Mystery Valley is well worth it if one is up for the rough roads and solitude. It is much less trafficked than Monument Valley and has a lot more artifacts. “Navajo are really superstitious people,” Bedoni notes, “So we keep a bit of distance when visiting artifacts and ruins to not wake up the spirits.”
Some of the stories that come up throughout the tour are really interesting to tourists. “We very occasionally do an overnight tour and people like to hear stories like the “Creation” story and “Skin-walker” stories,” Bedoni says. Skin-walker stories appeal to people's desire to hear ghost tales. Skin-walkers are said to be the opposite of Medicine Men and Women, who represent good. They are evil and take possession of animals or people and, at least how it is described in anecdotes to tourists, essentially act as witches.
Monument Valley Tours has 22 drivers, 2 cooks, and one mechanic. Bedoni likes to focus his tours on the land, the history, and also the present. “We want people to become more educated on the modern side of history,” Bedoni says. For example, there are 567 different tribes recognized in America. He also talks about the Bears Ears Monument, which is presently being downsized by the Federal Government, and the Long Walk of the Navajo, which was the Federal Government’s attempt at Ethnic Cleansing of the Navajo from their Native Land, and is a focal point to understanding modern Navajo culture.
Bedoni’s family has deep roots in the area as they are descendants of Chief Hoskannini (the Angry One), the most famous chief of the area. Chief Hoskannini was alive during the raids of Kit Carson, escaped famine and certain death to Navajo Mountain, a bit west of Monument Valley. During his time at Navajo Mountain, Chief Hoskannini would disappear and return with large amounts of silver time and time again. He did not inform anyone where he got the silver and lived out the rest of his days wealthy in Monument Valley.
These historical and modern stories and topics are discussed on all of the many tours offered by Monument Valley Tours and others throughout the area on the Utah/Arizona border. Though it is really “out there”, the nearest major city is Albuquerque about 4.5 hours away, it is well worth a visit. If not for the history and the chance to visit the iconic West at its most spectacular, then for the chance to visit the west as God intended, according to John Wayne. And we all know not to argue with the Duke.