Cover Story

Cover Story/Trip Report: Monument Valley -

Into Sacred Lands -at Night

by John Nilsson

All Photos©2022 John Nilsson, All Rights Reserved

The whole thing

Butch Mazzuca. “I’ve got this trip scheduled and I think you should go” he said enthusiastically. “We’re not getting any younger and we’ve got to take advantage of every adventure we can!". He further explained that Craig Wennersten, a Colorado Springs based photography instructor and trip leader had arranged for a group to visit sacred, private and seldom seen areas of Monument Valley – at night.

Knowing that this trip was going to result in photos that are not often, if ever seen, commitments were made and plans were drawn for Butch, me, Basil Katsaros, and Tom Loucks (all of us SCCC members) to visit Monument Valley at the end of October. Checking Photo Pils we realized our main target, the Galactic Center of the Milky Way, would be mostly below the horizon when the skies became dark enough to photograph it during this time of year. ( I recommend Milky Way trips in the area during June, July, August and September.) However, the draw of seeing Monument Valley’s unseen landscapes in Sacred Navajo Tribal lands and the top of Hunt’s Mesa at night was just too much of a draw. Off we went.

Basil and I started out a day early and shot some nice early evening pics at the Great Sand Dunes National Park outside of Alamosa, CO. We then transited to Monument Valley and located some beautiful red sand dunes on the southern side of the park that are seldom photographed. We enjoyed great shooting for the afternoon. A word of caution: Don’t go on unimproved dirt roads that suddenly become sand washes in a two wheel drive rental car. We became hopelessly mired -but that’s another story.

Sunset in the Red Sand Dunes - Monument Valley

he whole thing started six months ago when I got a call from my Vail area photog friend and SCCC member Butch Mazzuca. “I’ve got this trip scheduled and I think you should go” he said enthusiastically. “We’re not getting any younger and we’ve got to take advantage of every adventure we can!". He further explained that Craig Wennersten, a Colorado Springs based photography instructor and trip leader had arranged for a group to visit sacred, private and seldom seen areas of Monument Valley – at night.

Knowing that this trip was going to result in photos that are not often, if ever seen, commitments were made and plans were drawn for Butch, me, Basil Katsaros, and Tom Loucks (all of us SCCC members) to visit Monument Valley at the end of October. Checking Photo Pils we realized our main target, the Galactic Center of the Milky Way, would be mostly below the horizon when the skies became dark enough to photograph it during this time of year. ( I recommend Milky Way trips in the area during June, July, August and September.) However, the draw of seeing Monument Valley’s unseen landscapes in Sacred Navajo Tribal lands and the top of Hunt’s Mesa at night was just too much of a draw. Off we went.

Basil and I started out a day early and shot some nice early evening pics at the Great Sand Dunes National Park outside of Alamosa, CO. We then transited to Monument Valley and located some beautiful red sand dunes on the southern side of the park that are seldom photographed. We enjoyed great shooting for the afternoon. A word of caution: Don’t go on unimproved dirt roads that suddenly become sand washes in a two wheel drive rental car. We became hopelessly mired -but

On the starting day of our event, three of us met up at the View Hotel in Monument Valley. There we learned that Butch had unfortunately been forced to cancel at the last minute. The three of us remaining joined three other photographers for a pre-shoot conference with our leader, Craig. As the afternoon light began to fall we jumped in the comfortable Suburban’s of our great Navajo Guides, Bobby, Tooly, and Tye, and headed out to set up for our first night shoot. As we waited patiently under clear skies for the light to fall we noticed a huge, black cloud coming at us fast from the west. We were soon in heavy overcast conditions and blowing snow (never forecasted)! We were blindsided by Mother Nature - and so much for the Milky Way that night! By the time we got back to The View, the area was becoming a snowy wonderland. Making matters worse, in the middle of the night the power went out throughout the huge Monument Valley, leaving us in the dark and without heat, water, or food services for most of the following day. Our "world class" resort hotel unfortunately overlooked the need for a backup generator. The only outhouse within easy distance received a land office business!

The next day the storm was history and the skies returned to cloudless star-viewing condition. We left for a second night’s shoot just as the power came on in the hotel. This turned out to be an incredible experience! We found the Milky Way and photographed it from many different viewpoints under Craig’s tireless tutelage. I had never seen some of the formations we visited, nor had I ever viewed similar photos of Monument Valley to those we produced on this evening shoot!

The final day began at 2:00pm with a thrilling Jeep ride several hours into the wilderness backcountry to Hunt’s Mesa. Our guides called the road “a Government Road” as way of apologizing for its condition. I doubt that in 60 years of back country Jeep travel I have seen a worse “road” and I am still amazed at how our guides in their large Chevy Suburbans

Red Dunes in front of The Totum

Valley Floor views

Early Morning on Hunt‘s Mesa

handled the terrain, much less how they successfully negotiated it! When we arrived at the campsite set up by Tooly and Tye, we found comfortable wall tents, warm sleeping bags, and a huge camp/ cook fire. (Obviously, the myth of Indians and small camp fires is only just that - a myth!) Thick 3/4 pound steaks, hot coal baked potatoes and corn on the cob were quickly on the grill and consumed in record time, leaving us the opportunity for a little late evening shooting from a spectacular Monument Valley overlook to be followed by more great Milky Way shooting opportunities. The next morning offered a great breakfast of omelets and coffee and a final shoot of the sun rising over Monument Valley from our very special private viewpoint. For the last 24 hours we had been the only photographers within 100 square miles!

If you have ever wanted to polish up your night sky photography techniques and see the unseen in Monument Valley, I highly recommend you contact Craig Wennersten, http://Image10Photographic.com. Craig puts together several similar trips a year and has scheduled a few “Monument Valley at Night” trips in 2023. He also conducts trips for night shooting in Yellowstone, Death Valley and other National Parks. He is thorough, handles all the details, and is a wonderful and patient instructor in the vagaries of nightime photography. John Nilsson

The Sun‘s Eye and the Milky Way

Late Evening Totem from Hunt‘s Mesa

Sunset in Monument Valley from Hunt‘s Mesa