Feel the Navajo Spirit at Monument Valley Video

MONUMENT VALLEY, Utah (ABC4 Utah) A visit to Goosenecks State Park sets vacationers up for a view of a lifetime, but the breathtaking views aren't the only things that the park offers.

Goosenecks State Park offers that breathtaking view but just down the road, you can head to Monument Valley where the rock formations will leave you in awe and you can become one with the Navajo spirit.



"Navajo people consider these places sacred because they have some kind of energy that helps heal themselves," said Don Mose.

The Navajo Tribal Park encompasses 30,000 acres on the border of Utah and Arizona. The rock formations can be seen for miles standing between 400 and 1200 feet tall. People from around the world come to marvel at the natural beauty.

"We've traveled quite a bit in Australia, we thought they did big rocks really well, but this beats them, a hundred times," said Karen Gray, tourist from New Zealand.

In addition to the topography, tours provide a glimpse into Navajo nation customs from weaving a tapestry on the loom in a Hogan to a traditional drum song under a naturally formed arch.

"There's a lot of cultural history in the valley. There's the mythology of how the Navajos came to be in this area from the third world to the fourth world. There are sacred places you don't go because it is sacred, where we do offerings and so forth," said Marietta Bedonie, Goulding's Lodge Tour Guide.

The tribal park is different from a state park. Navajo families live on their land beneath the rocks. The names of the formations are resemblances observed by pioneers. The valley is also a hot spot for movies and commercials.

"Back to the Future, Back to the Future 3 with Michael J. Fox, and Lone Ranger, and a popular one I always here is wind talkers with Nicholas Cage and Adam Beech," said Bedonie.

Many people think these rocks were formed solely by erosion, but volcanic pressure from below helped propel these rocks to great heights.