Talk:Monument Valley

Separate article?

I'm not convinced this deserves a separate article. If it really is true that the nearest lodging is in Kayenta, I would incline to believe that it does not, and that a merger with Navajo Nation is indicated. However, I thought there is actually lodging in Monument Valley itself, which qualifies it under the "stay a night" criterion. Anybody? -- (WT-en) Bill-on-the-Hill 19:36, 23 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Goulding's Lodge is in Monument Valley. In addition, since both Kayenta and Mexican Hat are so far away I would think that Monument Valley could have its own article based solely on the fact that it's a major attraction not located near anything else, kind of like Stonehenge. -- (WT-en) Ryan 22:08, 23 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Fair enough. I'd already referenced Goulding's Lodge in the Navajo Nation article, and as much as anything else, was concerned that it was closed or something. (That would be a loss.) OK to leave this, but somebody needs to put some flesh on the bones; I don't know Monument Valley well enough to add much myself. -- (WT-en) Bill-on-the-Hill 09:28, 26 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Hopefully the lodge is still open -- the web site lists a reservations link. I was in Monument Valley in April, but camped and didn't pay much attention to lodging, although I seem to recall signs for something. I'll try to add a bit more to this article when I get a chance, but my memory isn't the greatest and info online is a bit patchy. Alternatively, if you or I don't do it then someone is bound to come along and start filling out the sections. -- (WT-en) Ryan 02:44, 28 Sep 2005 (EDT)

It's looking pretty good now :) – (WT-en) cacahuate ^talk 18:48, 20 September 2008 (EDT)

This paragraph

I find this paragraph hard to comprehend, not because of its grammar or anything like that, but because of its perspective:

The distances are vast in the United States, and many people do not allow sufficient travel time, especially when they are used to the shorter distances in Europe or Asia. Many of Monument Valley's visitors are European and Japanese, and it is difficult for them to comprehend the distances you have to travel between destinations. If you travel from Las Vegas or Phoenix, your trip will take almost the entire day. You cannot see Monument Valley and also go further than the Grand Canyon to the south, and Moab to the north in the same day. Even staying at the Monument Valley for one night is cutting your stay extremely short relative to what there is to see in this part of the Navajo Nation.

Although I used Flagstaff as a base for exploring Arizona in 2019, having left Flagstaff at 04:00 in the morning and arriving there at 08:00 (stopping for breakfast along some cafes), explored the entire day in that region (outside Monument Valley too), and left at 17:00 back to Flagstaff. I know Flagstaff is only 2.75 hours from Monument, but it is only an extra 1.75 hours from Phoenix making it 4.5 hours. Do people from Europe and Asia find driving 4.5 hours one-way "too long"? --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 04:40, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

I would subtract Asia, because distances in China, India and, for example, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia are vast, too, but in Europe, if you travel 4.5 hours, you're often in another country. France is the biggest country in Europe other than ex-Soviet countries, and its area is about the same as that of Texas though the shape is very different. Australia and the U.S. are comparable in size. Ikan Kekek (talk) 08:59, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

Perhaps so, except when referring to Asia, is it specifically referring to Japan (where 4.5 hours would be the travel time between Tokyo and Sendai)?

But I'd agree on the rest of Asia though. A 550 km (340 mi) drive took us eight hours in India before, mainly due to the poor roads mostly with a speed limit of 80–90 km/h (50–56 mph) (and how people never seem to observe the damn speed limit). At least in Australia and the U.S., undivided highways are usually 100–130 km/h (62–81 mph) in Australia while 100–105 km/h (62–65 mph) in the U.S., much better than a 70 km/h (43 mph) you'd find in Asia. Should we specify specifically Japan? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 09:12, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

Only as in "or, for example, Japan". Most Asian countries are way smaller than the U.S., including much of Southeast Asia (but not huge Indonesian islands like Sumatra), Korea, Taiwan, Bangladesh... Ikan Kekek (talk) 09:22, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

Oh yes... idiot me forgot about those. But for Europe, it's generally true (it's unusual how they say "three hours" is long in the UK), but I'd expect many in the Nordic countries wouldn't be surprised to do a 4.5 hour drive. When I was in Norway, I met a family and they told me that they don't find a seven hour trip to Trondheim from Oslo long at all. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 09:32, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

That's a good point. Ikan Kekek (talk) 12:32, 22 January 2022 (UTC)