Thursday 20 October Monument Valley

Millions of years ago, the south-west deserts of the USA were covered by sea. Over geological time, the sea deposited layers of silts, which compressed into rock. A sand dune hundreds of metres high was deposited over the rock, then the sea returned, laying down more rock over the top of the sand. This last rock was a very hard cemented conglomerate. Cracks in the conglomerate allowed water to seep down and erode the sandy layers underneath. The result was a number of areas of spectacular canyons, buttes, arches and other formations. Monument Valley is one of the most famous such areas.

We woke long before sunrise and drove through the cold crisp morning to the valley visitor centre, where we met our guide Tom Phillips. Tom is a Navajo who was born and grew up in the area, and knows all the best spots. He was recommended to us by friends in Nikonians, so we were expecting good things.

For the next five hours, he took us from one spectacular location to the next, explained the geology and history of the area, and gave us valuable hints and tips on photographing this amazing landscape.

Back to Gouldings for a quick lunch and to download our pictures, then once more into the valley for an afternoon of shooting. We had dinner at Goulding's restaurant (where else?) and got a reasonably early night - we had to be up before dawn again tomorrow.