The second stop on our annual hiking trip was Monument Valley in Arizona. This desert area is a part of the Navajo tribal nation and is filled with red sand and “buttes” which are naturally made monuments. Monument Vally is specifically famous for its “mittens” which are two separate buttes that look like a set of hands with no fingers, or mittens. This type of natural landscape is very different than the one I grew up in, which makes it even more exciting to explore. I love my wooded back yard and hometown lake because of their familiarity, but there is something special about exploring a new natural landscape for the first time. Right when we got to the park we did a 17-mile driving loop with multiple pull-offs to get different views of the mittens. All of these lookout points were amazing, but the highlight of the day was seeing a rainbow above the monuments from our hotel balcony. I love these trips because every year I get to experience nature and wilderness in a new way, which makes me appreciate it even more. This nature setting also opened my eyes to a different culture in our country. The Navajo nation is filled with glorious landmarks, canyons and ruins that I never knew about. By exploring their home and wilderness I got to learn new things about them and also take in the natural beauty of the landscape.
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