I had always wanted to go to Monument Valley.
Of course, these days when contemplating a visit you spend a considerable time researching the best time to visit, how to get there, accommodation etc.
However, there wasn’t a lot of information on the internet. It seemed a bit strange, but we put it down to looking in the wrong place. It happens you know !
Even the hotel concierge at the closest town was a little coy. Somehow you get the feeling that something is wrong, but of course you have no way of working it out. He did tell us that the park closed at 8.00 pm and it was already 6.00 pm. The evening was closing in and I was anxious to catch the light and the park was 24 miles away. But we arrived in good time and prepared to pay and drive through the park.
No so.
The guy in the little white box said Mr Trump closed it and if we wanted to visit we had to pay $90 per person for an hour tour.
We were most disappointed, like many others I was an international visitor, we had invested considerable expense to be there, accommodation, extra mileage etc… and I for one was miffed at the lack of information online and at the hotel.
So my photos are taken from the restaurant area…. but I really wanted the dirt on my sandals.
So as you can see by the photos I captured it.
The light was magnificent and I managed to miss the tourists….. Oh, yes, that’s me too.
Oh such a sad story but your pics are still amazing.
Imagine the audacity of that man charging people $90 to visit a national park. Was it $90 for the hour left and still $90 for the whole day. Surely not $90 and hour 😱
We are so very, very lucky down here aren’t we? Free and beautiful beaches. Free and beautiful national parks, though I know you do have to pay to see exhibitions etc. $90? My heart is heavy💖
$90 per person per hour!!!!!!
That’s outrageous! I can understand a fee to cover costs, but $90 per person per hour is way over the top. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t tell you at the hotel, though. Surely they knew?
Beautiful. Love following your travels. Gypsy pamela
This doesn’t sound quite right. It would be more reasonable if Frump had closed anything down, that there would not be any pay to view allowed. This sounds fishy….and possibly illegal even.
I know…. I was sure miffed.
Pam, I was horrified by your story! But then I googled, and don’t know whether I am more horrified or less so. According to the website that seems official, admission is $10/person, kids under 9 free, $20 for a carload of four people. https://utah.com/monument-valley/visitor-center I HOPE you have time to try again! And I hope this is true!
Well Pam you may have not got your feet dirty but you sure captured the power, and magic of the area, I have been totally spellbound by your images, so wonderful to see the changing light play on the same rock formation, my goodness you can make your camera dance. I guess they thought they had you over a barrel been so close to closing and you would pay but they did not know this Ozzie chick did they LOL !!!!!Cheers Glenda FNQLD
Glenda Jean. I laughed. You’re right I wasn’t going to bow to their demands.
Pam, I’m so sorry to hear about this. This didn’t sound right, so I looked online and found this site that basically says the Navajo Nation has closed it and other Navajo sites unless you have a permit due to trespassing. Not Trump at all. http://navajonationparks.org/permits-services/ Your photos are stunning!
Well, I guess it’s beyond our control. When you are there…you trust people.
Pam, Monument Valley is part of the Navajo Nation (reservation) and is controlled by the Navajos – not the US government. It certainly sounds like the person at the booth was trying to take advantage of your group. Definitely fishy…..
Well, I don’t know…. all I know is I was disappointed.
ohhh its too bad……why he is doing so
Unfortunately (for the rest of us) the Navajo Nation is a separate entity exempt from Federal or state regulations and does what it’s tribal council decides to do; they have been restricting access to various sites in recent years, so it sounds like this is the latest iteration. So sorry for your trouble, but at least you could see the beauty of the place.
Amazing place..:) nice clicks too.. It is horrible that they asked 90$ just for an hour..!!
Hi Pam, I’d sure like more information, specifically, where you tried to go into the park. I’d like to look into it further. We had hoped to do some traveling this summer. Pricewise on the internet we found a pass for 5-days for $5 a day.
I’m reading that other people found the same kind of information I did. Would you please comment to everyone that your experience may have been a scam at that point of entry. Please also correct what you said about Trump. This doesn’t appear to have anything to do with President Trump. Thank you. I’m sorry you had a bad experience at any of our parks.
I’m afraid it wasn’t a scam…. we were at the entrance at that time, it wasn’t from the internet.
The official at the information counter gave us that information – re Trump so I can not refute the statement.