{"id":3481,"date":"2014-12-31T19:32:34","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T00:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/?p=3481"},"modified":"2014-12-31T20:23:05","modified_gmt":"2015-01-01T01:23:05","slug":"utah-driving-through-monument-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2014\/12\/utah-driving-through-monument-valley.html","title":{"rendered":"Utah Discoveries 1: Driving through Monument Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"This<\/a>

This is a VERY famous view. Read on about Monument Valley.<\/p><\/div>\n

After leaving the Grand Canyon on the morning of July 4th, we set forth on an approximately 8-hour drive to Moab, Utah. We chose the route that took us through Monument Valley, which is just north of\u00a0the Utah\/Arizona border near U.S. Highway 163. The drive is gorgeous, taking us through numerous ecosystems and significant terrain changes.<\/p>\n

Monument Valley<\/a> itself is full of buttes that tower as high as 1000′ above the valley floor. It was made famous in dozens of western movies, from John Ford westerns<\/a> in the 1930s to Back to the Future III<\/a><\/em> to\u00a0Disney’s The Lone Ranger<\/em> in 2013<\/a>. It’s now the quintessential sign of “The Wild Wild West”. Many might know the view in the photo above to be the point where Forrest Gump decided he didn’t feel like running anymore<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Enjoy some photos from the drive.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0301\"<\/a>

We drove through the northwestern part of the Painted Desert<\/a> near Tuba City, AZ. The terrain is so beautiful here, it reminded us of Badlands National Park<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"DSC_0309\"<\/a>

And then…just like that…the terrain changed.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"DSC_0355\"<\/a>

Close up views of the famous buttes in Monument Valley.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"DSC_0282\"<\/a>

Then the terrain changed again.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"DSC_0304\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DSC_0318\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DSC_0345\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DSC_0384\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DSC_0389\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DSC_0435\"<\/a>

This was the descent into Moab.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After leaving the Grand Canyon on the morning of July 4th, we set forth on an approximately 8-hour drive to Moab, Utah. We chose the route that took us through Monument Valley, which is just north of\u00a0the Utah\/Arizona border near U.S. Highway 163. The drive is gorgeous, taking us through numerous ecosystems and significant terrain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[523,560,561,559],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ycQ0-U9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3567,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2015\/01\/june-july-vacation-summary.html","url_meta":{"origin":3481,"position":0},"title":"June\/July 2014 Vacation Summary","date":"01 January 15","format":false,"excerpt":"Our June\/July 2014 summer vacation to the American southwest was fun and filled with National Park goodness. We are grateful for\u00a0the National Park Service's \"Military Annual Pass\" program which saved us nearly $80 in entrance fees on this trip. Here's the summary of everything we did: Drive to Durango Durango\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"arizona\"","img":{"alt_text":"IMG_9830","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_9830-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3497,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2014\/12\/utah-camping-in-moab.html","url_meta":{"origin":3481,"position":1},"title":"Utah Discoveries 2: Camping in Moab","date":"31 December 14","format":false,"excerpt":"We elected to camp in Moab, which might not have been the best idea. We didn't think about Moab\u00a0being at a lower elevation than the previous places we visited (Durango and the Grand Canyon), it being the month of July, or the noise we'd experience in a state that allows\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"camping\"","img":{"alt_text":"IMG_9808","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/IMG_9808-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3528,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2015\/01\/utah-arches-np.html","url_meta":{"origin":3481,"position":2},"title":"Utah Discoveries 4: More of Arches National Park","date":"01 January 15","format":false,"excerpt":"After our morning hike to Delicate Arch, we elected to drive through the rest of the park because it got very warm in a hurry. It took us\u00a0about two hours to drive through the park enjoying the additional arches and geology. Here are some photos from our drive.","rel":"","context":"In \"arches\"","img":{"alt_text":"My awesome boys!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_9812-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3647,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2015\/04\/utah-discoveries-6-spring-break-in-utah-driving-westward.html","url_meta":{"origin":3481,"position":3},"title":"Utah Discoveries 6: Spring Break in Utah, Driving Westward","date":"18 April 15","format":false,"excerpt":"Thanks to some last minute planning on my part, we were unable to get lodging\u00a0for some Spring Break skiing within Colorado, but we were able to get a condo in Park City, Utah. While it may seem strange that we travelled all the way to Utah for skiing that might\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/sl8.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3352,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2014\/08\/colorado-discoveries-41-four-corners.html","url_meta":{"origin":3481,"position":4},"title":"Colorado Discoveries 41: Four Corners Monument","date":"31 August 14","format":false,"excerpt":"You can't drive between southwestern Colorado and New Mexico\/Arizona without stopping briefly at the Four Corners Monument. The monument is operated by the Navajo Nation. Since we were in the Navajo Nation. We paid an entry fee of $5 per person to enter the monument area, and what I saw\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"colorado\"","img":{"alt_text":"DSC_2062","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/DSC_2062-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3507,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2014\/12\/utah-delicate-arch-hike.html","url_meta":{"origin":3481,"position":5},"title":"Utah Discoveries 3: Hiking to Delicate Arch at Arches National Park","date":"31 December 14","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0ultimate goal in our visit to Moab was a visit to Arches National Park. The geology of the region is incredibly unique, with soft sandstone being unevenly worn away due to wind erosion. The terrain doesn't even look like it belongs on this earth! Delicate Arch, towering over six-stories high,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"arches national park\"","img":{"alt_text":"My boys got annoyed in a hurry with my attempts for the perfect Delicate Arch photo. I was doing everything in my power to keep other people out of the shot, which was quite difficult.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/DSC_0552x-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3481"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3481"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3505,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3481\/revisions\/3505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}