MONUMENT VALLEY: Navajo Nation Tribal Land is a literary portrayal of one of the most celebrated scenic backdrops in the American Southwest, and possibly the world. If the name doesn't convey an image of the Valley's sculpted sandstone monuments, perhaps seeing some of John Wayne's Western classics might provide a mental view and reminder.
Abstract: Located 22 miles north of Kayenta, Arizona, Monument Valley spreads its peerless beauty and shares its vast boundary with Utah just to the north. Perhaps next to the Grand Canyon, the Valley's mesmerizing background are the most awe-inspiring remnants in North America. This is indeed Navajo country whose people (the Diné) are proud of their homeland, especially this representative valley of erosional landmarks. With hoards of tourists visiting from all over the world, seeing this so-called "dished valley" environs from the veranda is the initial sweeping vista of why and how this sector of the Great Basin Desert earned its moniker while driving the 17-mile loop road into the interior is the best way to experience these erosional relics and what each prized monument has to offer. For instance, a closer view of the Mitten Buttes and Merrick Butte, the Totem Poles, John Ford's Point, and numerous other scenic highlights along the way. In this publication, twelve so-named "Sandstone Sketches" (chapter) reveal various facets of what Monument Valley represents beyond its stunning view. For instance, the geologic aspects, the native people who live here, the vastness of the Colorado Plateau Province, which, in this desert sector, includes Monument Valley, and a plethora of other regional national parks and monuments (i.e., Mystery Valley, Arches, Canyonlands, Bears Ears, and the Goosenecks of the San Juan). Monument Valley, the text, vividly describes to the reader the eloquence of its meticulously sculpted landscape and grandeur.
Incidentally, all of the Sandstone Sketches in this book reveal the author's passion for the Four Corners region, as well as how he relates to the Valley's singular portrait of nature's meticulous and timely downsizing of plateaus, mesas, buttes, and hoodoos (i.e., tall, thin spire of rock). Thus, the process of erosional fabrication over millions of years.
(247-pages 8 x 11 format)
About the Author: After being Honorably Discharged from the Navy (submarine service), he has lived in the West and Southwest for over four decades. Earning three academic degrees in Eastern and Western Philosophy, for nearly 30 years Rich made a living as an outdoors educator and interpreter teaching a variety of geosciences, human, and natural history geared to the Colorado Plateau Province. Additionally, Rich was a professional studio and stage musician and taught guitar and music theory, including composing two soundtracks for the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks; a high school Educational Assistant and Substitute Teacher; a commercial pilot flying a variety of aircraft; a professional photographer; a GPS surveyor and topographical mapper for the U. S. Forest Service; a planetarium control room operator; a museum docent; and the Coconino County Sheriff's Office. What RK is more enthused about, however, is serving in the role of an interpretive guide and educator for the Grand Canyon Field Institute (a National Park Service endorsed outreach program (http: //bit.ly/1D6YS1u). He was also an instructor at Northern Arizona University and Yavapai College (respectively, Flagstaff and Prescott), as well as the owner of a Southwest eco and cultural tourism enterprise. Fairly recently, he became the Executive Director of a think tank in Albuquerque, based on astronautics and aerospace S.T.E.M. classroom projects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), including the co-author of a math-lab book based on rocketry. (www.stemfortheclassroom.com) For more of RICH HOLTZIN'S backstory, peruse his website under his legal name: www.richholtzin.com
