Monument Valley, Arizona

You can almost hear the old western music as you gaze over this iconic land. Monument Valley has graced so many movie sets that it probably lives in your imagination, whether you've been there or not. And it's far grander in real life than it could ever be on the screen. There's not a lot out here but wide open space, leaving Monument Valley's imposing red rock formations visible for miles and miles.

We stayed in a roundhouse cabin on Navajo land, where we were greeted enthusiastically by Peewee and Zeus, dogs whose names reflected their relative size and stature. Aaron, our host, shared native stories and music that helped us build an even deeper connection to this sacred place.

The scenic drive offers the most extensive tour of Monument Valley, a 17-mile red dirt road that winds its way through the rock formations with shifting views in every direction.

The joke in the Pacific Northwest is that if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute, but no weather I have ever known has turned on a dime with the intensity we experienced here. In the 10 minutes it took for us to marvel at the views around the visitor center and get going on the drive, the sky went from bright sunshine to dark clouds and sudden snow blowing sideways. While it wasn't the weather we expected, it added drama to our visit. And by the time we finished the drive, the sun had returned, so we decided to do it all over again to experience different conditions.

We wanted to experience Monument Valley up close, so we set out to hike the Wildcat Trail the day after our drive. The trail took us through the park's most famous formations, looping around West Mitten and East Mitten. I loved watching each formation grow as we approached, until I could look up to the top from their foundations.

We took a side trip to Canyon de Chelly, one of the longest continuously inhabited places in North America. Its sweeping sandstone cliffs protect a lush river valley that has supported centuries of human history, from ancestral Puebloans to present-day Navajo families. It was a freezing day, and we nearly had the whole place to ourselves. We took our time, lingering at each lonely vista, watching the mist rise from the valley floor and listening to the wind whistle through the canyon.

This was one of our last stops in Arizona before heading on to New Mexico for the next chapter of our trip. On our way out, we made a quick stop at Four Corners Monument, putting our feet in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, all at once.