Run Forrest, Run!
We woke up to find that the storm had passed, although the ground was still damp in the morning, and there was an icy cold wind blowing so that despite the sun’s rays, the temperature was below 0 degrees Celsius (31 degrees Fahrenheit).
From Mexican Hat we drove straight to Forrest Gump Hill. This stop is famous for a particular scene in the movie Forrest Gump, as the main character runs for miles and years around the US. There’s even a sign a mile out from the spot, informing people of the upcoming attraction.
There were several vehicles when we parked, and there was even a vendor stall right by this spot to park on the side of the road (while it was empty, we imagine it gets super busy during the summer months). Of course, everyone takes photos on the road, pretending to run and recreating that movie scene. Everyone had to be careful to continually watch both sides of the road, making sure to move away from oncoming traffic! Eventually the myriad of tourists left, which gave us a lucky chance to take a few more photos when the road was clear!
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
We crossed back over into Arizona (which is one hour behind Utah and so kinda confusing for our internal body clocks, which have zigzagged state lines multiple times recently), to visit Monument Valley (which also partially sits in Utah). Monument Valley is well-known for its awesome sandstone buttes and spectacular views, and sits on Navajo tribal land. It costs $8 per person to enter.
RVs and motorcycles aren’t permitted to drive the 17 mile scenic trail due to the rough terrain and deep sand dunes, so we had to park in the Visitor Center (luckily, there are a ton of spaces), and decided to do a hike to immerse ourselves in the landscape. There are also tours that visitors can take that are run by Navajo people. These are in open-air vehicles, so it would have been chilly feeling the icy wind breeze past as a passenger!
Ahead of starting our hike we checked out the Visitor Center. The information desk was only open briefly (the person inside was the same person who was at the fee station when we drove in), but we came at exactly the right moment to obtain a map and check in for our hike. While we’re not big on souvenirs, the Visitor Center had a lot of gorgeous Navajo-made jewelry, statues, pottery, dream catchers, and other items. There’s also an exhibit on the floor underneath, and outside the souvenir shop there’s sweeping and picturesque views of Monument Valley. John Wayne fans will recognize the views from his many old Western movies that were filmed in the area.
Hiking the Wildcat Trail
It was positively freezing when we started our hike, on the Wildcat Trail, an approximately 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) loop. While it was apparently a sunny 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit), the wind chill made it feel like -2 degrees Celsius (28 degrees Fahrenheit). Fortunately, we did get some respite in the deeper parts of the valley, so that we weren’t exposed to the icy cold wind the entire time. While we’ve seen markers along hikes before indicating how many miles in we’d walked, this was the first time we saw markers in both kilometers and miles!
We enjoyed hiking this trail and seeing what greenery could thrive in such a dry climate, which included gorgeous wildflowers and the distinct canaigre or Arizona dock perennial flowering plant that popped in color in the middle of this reddish-brown landscape. There are no bins along this trail although there are a couple of picnic stops to sit at; we even saw a cooler plopped on one of the picnic seats where visitors could self-pay for water. It was near a small settlement, so presumably the folks living there set this up each day.
As we passed the halfway mark, looping back around to return to the carpark, the wind became much stronger, whipping red dirt into our eyes and sticking to our faces in the areas where we’d applied sunscreen. As we hurriedly made our way back, we had wind-rashed faces and were eager to have lunch, but were happy to have completed this lively trek.
Navajo Code Talkers and Burger King
After checking out from our hike and eating lunch, we continued on to the Burger King in the town of Kayenta in Arizona. Nope, it wasn’t to eat at this fast food restaurant, but to check out the world’s best exhibit on the Navajo Code Talkers.
In World War II, the U.S. military’s code was continually being cracked by the Japanese. So they turned to the Navajo Code Talkers. Navajo is a unique language that barely anyone outside the Navajo Nation spoke. The Marines recruited 29 young Navajo men to help build an unbreakable code, achieving incredible feats. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, six Navajo Code Talkers sent over 800 messages without a single mistake. Major Howard Connor later said the Marines couldn’t have taken Iwo Jima without them. The code stayed a secret until the Vietnam War.
Years later, in 1986, a small town in Arizona got its first fast-food spot, opened by Richard Mike, son of a Code Talker. He filled it with his dad’s war memorabilia to honor their legacy, which is what’s in the Burger King today.
Adjacent to the Burger King, there’s also a small Navajo Cultural Center, open daily. Unfortunately we just missed the museum by an hour, arriving at 4pm (the museum closes at 3pm), but we were able to wander around and still see the Navajo hogans, sweat houses and other exhibits outside.
Tomorrow we planned to visit Antelope Canyon in Arizona. We drove just past it to the city of Page. Here, the Walmart is a very popular overnight spot for campers, we slept among many other RVs, vans, and other vehicles parked here for the night.
Route Map
