A scenic flight over Monument Valley gave me a breathtaking aerial view of its famous buttes and mesas, one of the most unforgettable moments of my 2011 tour.
One of the highlights of my 2011 National Parks and Monuments tour was an unexpected opportunity to take a flight over Monument Valley. Instead of spending the morning shopping around Lake Powell, a small group of us were taken to the nearby airport for a scenic flight that offered a completely different perspective on this iconic landscape.
Boarding the Flight.
We travelled by coach to the small airport near Lake Powell, where those of us booked on the flight disembarked. I don’t remember how the seating was assigned, but I ended up at the back of the De Havilland Canada aircraft, in a single seat with an excellent window view. It turned out to be the perfect spot for taking photos, although, frustratingly, I haven’t been able to find those photos since. If I ever locate them, I’ll add the album to this site.
The engines were loud, and without the headphones we were given, we wouldn’t have heard a word the pilot said. Through the headset, he guided us through the landscape below, pointing out the major formations as we flew over them.
Flying Over Monument Valley.
We took off from Page Municipal Airport and headed out over Lake Powell before crossing into Monument Valley and the Navajo Nation. From the air, the scale of the landscape becomes even more impressive. The vastness of the desert, the towering sandstone formations and the deep shadows cast across the valley floor all looked spectacular from above.
During the flight, we saw many of Monument Valley’s most famous landmarks, including:
- West and East Mitten Buttes.
- Merrick Butte.
- Hunts Mesa.
- Rainbow Bridge.
- The Three Sisters.
- The North Window.
- The Totem Pole.
Seeing these formations from the air gave me a completely different appreciation of their size and isolation. It was a short flight, but it was one of the most memorable experiences of the entire tour.
A New Perspective.
We had already passed through Monument Valley by coach earlier in the trip, but the flight offered something entirely different. From the ground, the formations feel huge; from the air, they feel timeless. The landscape stretches out endlessly, and the monuments rise from it like ancient sentinels.
Add comment