| Today we left Grand
Canyon and headed east for Monument Valley. But for the first 60 miles we
were still following the canyon - and the views are still as spectacular. |  |
| Eventually we reached the
Desert Tower. It was designed in 1930 by architect Mary Coulter and has a
steel frame built by the engineers of the Santa Fe railroad. She designed a
number of the buildings in the park. |  |
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Many of the murals on the inside walls were painted by Hopi artist Fred
Kabotie. |
| On a clear day you can
see Navajo Mountain from here (more than 90 miles away). Sadly pollution
from the Page coal burning power station restricts visbility these days. |  |
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The odd mound shape may well be the cone of an ancient volcano. |
| A little more of the
river is visible here. |  |
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There are still canyons being formed as we follow the Little Colorado River.
These rifts limit travel going north. |
| These odd rock formations
are called hoodoos and are increasingly seen as we approach Monument Valley. |  |
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A rare sighting of a coal train from the Kayenta coal mine to the Page power
station. I thought both had closed but obviously not yet. |
| The coal travels from the
opencast mine to this tower which is used to load the train. The coal is
very dirty and of poor quality which make the Page power station one of the
most polluting in the US. The railway is completely separate from all other
railways in the US. |  |
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