It's a 10 hour drive from L.A. to Monument Valley, which seems perfectly manageable until you're about 3 hours in to your drive and realize you're barely out of Los Angeles. And then you think, hey isn't Vegas sort of on the way?

It turns out Vegas IS sort of on the way, so after 4 or so rough hours on the road we decided to spend the night in Vegas, taking in the sights and sounds (and smells) of Fremont Street. I'll save those photos for another post.

Another perk to staying in Vegas the first night was that it was a quick 3.5 hour drive from there to our first stop, Grand Staircase.

The rock formations in the Devil's Garden were created by weather and erosion over the last 166 million years. That's an unfathomable amount of time to me. The area is filled with hoodos and arches made from these natural forces and I found them all to be truly otherworldly.

You know when you're going on a road trip and you pass something cool and wonder, "is it worth stopping to check out?"

This happened constantly.

But this time was so compelling that we just HAD to stop and investigate, even though we were only about an hour away from our final destination in Monument Valley. As we rounded a particularly beautiful bend in the road, I swore I spied water off to our right. A bit further ahead and we were fully in a canyon where we could see a massive lake sitting silent and still in the midst of these huge red rocks.

After another 2.5 hours driving from Grand Staircase, we finally arrived in Monument Valley. It was jaw dropping and words can't really do it justice so I'm going to stop trying.

The tour I booked was with Monument Valley Safari and took place on a Navajo Reservation and the business is Navajo operated and owned, which was important to me. Our experience was incredible, offering us access to areas of the park only accessible to us. My favorite things were the many arches and caves we explored. The acoustics inside some of the formations were incredible, and I really enjoyed when our guide sang us a song inside the largest one.

I only got to spend one night in Monument Valley, which hardly satisfied my curiosity for the countless other wonders I knew the park had to offer. So yes, I am definitely coming back here and staying longer. My tour guide told me they do overnight camping tours, on the very tops of some of the largest mesas. Sounds like something I need to do, and soon!