Just before dawn across from my campground in Monument Valley. My horseback ride will be on the other side of those formations.
My guide picked me up at 8 a.m. and drove me to the corrals...which was a good thing, because the road to get there was kind of rough. This was the welcoming committee when I opened the truck door. One big German Shepherd and six cute puppies, all excited to see me. I was told the Shepherd is not related to the puppies. Dad was a roaming Catahoula Leopard dog.
The corral.
And one pretty horse tied up by himself.
And we were off in the early morning sunshine.
My horse's name was Mustang...don't ask me the guide's name, lol. I'm terrible about remembering people's names.
Since I was the only rider, there was no pressure on Mustang or me to keep his nose to the guide's rear. Very relaxing ride.
The view looking away from the monuments. Wide open desert spaces.
Three dogs went with us; one of them was the puppies' mother.
I missed the Harvest Moon, but there it is, a few days later.
My Navajo guide is wearing a bandana, traditional headgear.
Close to the edge...
So quiet, off the tourist trail.
I think my guide is "texting while riding"...
Ahead, if memory serves me, is the "Stagecoach" formation.
Photo op...
My guide, what's his name.
More views from the trail...
The dogs are roaming around down there.
One pretty view after another.
The big German Shepherd was waiting for us. They seem to know the trail pretty well.
In the distance is the valley where I had the vehicle tour the day before.
So much rich color.
Another photo op. The guide...
And me...
I learned when I was in Baja not to follow the guide everywhere he goes.
On we go...
The dogs have joined us again as we turn back by a different route.
Up and down and around some rocks.
The dogs are hunting in the rocks up there.
The guide points out an some old corrals in this area.
Old wooden corral.
Dogs are still hunting.
Shadow pic.
Through some rocks.
No, I wasn't falling off the horse. Mustang liked to trot up the hills, and it was hard to hold the camera straight.
Back near the starting point we met another guide and two Japanese tourists. They followed us back to the corral, and that guide gave us all a ride back to the campground. He had a lot of good advice about my next destination, Canyon de Chelly, and recommended another horseback tour there.
The two guides.
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's....a plane!
Almost back.
My guide is texting again. Probably letting the boss know we're back.
Look, mama dog caught a rat out there, and is bringing it back to her puppies.
Well, maybe it's for herself. The puppies are still nursing.
The owner says I can have one...they are free. So cute!
But I don't think Thistle wants one.
That night there was a halo around the sun while it set.
And I thought this was a unique sunset shot through the window of my open door. The large mesa is the view through the window, and the sunset is reflected in the window making it look like the sun is setting in front of the mesa.
