Recent travel articles in The New York Times and some magazines invariably depict some view of Monument Valley when extolling the glories of the Navajo reservation. Covering nearly 100 square miles, the area’s 30,000 acres became a Navajo Tribal Park in 1958. Before that, in the 1930s and 40s, John Ford made the place famous in his Hollywood movies. In fact, if we called Monument Valley iconic, we wouldn’t be wrong.As landscapes go, this one is rightly associated with Indian Country in people’s minds.

Its sheer scope, along with isolated mesas and buttes, was sculpted in the Cenozoic era when the region was under water. When the sea receded, what remained left behind were beds of sand. These hardened and compacted into the hundreds of stone formations so beloved of photographers.

Countless writers and journalists speak of the magic of the region, and how visiting this area clears their heads from every day cares and distractions. One personal note: after brain surgery in early 2002, I decided I wanted to go to Monument Valley for just those reasons later that year. What I had forgotten, however, is that it sits 4800 to 5700 feet above sea level. I had a wonderful time, except for the headaches!