My visit to the Arch (November 2010)

[Rudra]

Hello friends,

I went to the Monument Valley and visited the "Arch" site. Here are some photographs, that I would like to share with the board members. I am more than thankful to all those members who gave valuable advise as to directions to the location and accommodation etc. I cannot described how it felt to see the "arch" as I approached it and then being there and standing on the spot where the great Henry Fonda, Sergio Leone once stood. My only crib from the tour was unable to go the location where Stander's Trading Post once stood. By the way, enjoy a few pics.



















Frank impersonation

[moviesceleton]

  Way cool! I want there myself so bad! Are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet...

[cigar joe]

nice pictures 

[dave jenkins]

I like the Frank impersonation. You are living the dream, my friend.

[Rudra]

Thank you for your kind comments friends. The credit for making this trip happen really goes to the members of this board and I thank them again for this wonderful experience. It is a different kind of a feeling to see the "arch" as you approach it. Knowing that Henry Fonda and Sergio Leone were there, being in that place is the closest you can ever get to these great men. It is a wonderful experience that cannot be described or told by words alone as the feeling goes beyond it.

Of course, as a fan of Leone and OUATITW, I was sad to see the miserable condition surrounding the site. Broken pieces of glass bottles, probably young Navajo boys come there and drink alcohol, as no one comes there, except a few people like us. I was thinking that if someone here, who has the contacts, can get in touch with the Navajo administration and have that site spruced up and the arch rebuilt. Not only it would add another attraction for the tourists coming to Monument Valley, it can also be source of revenue to the Navajos and we can perhaps be sure that whatever remains of the arch, remains "intact", otherwise with the passing of the time, it will disappear sooner or later. If we can tell, that the set was used to depict a wrongful hanging of a Navajo character in the film, it might strike a chord with the Navajo people. Like the John Ford Point, we can have something like The Leone Arch.

I have a question. How was the arch "re-discovered", after the film was completed and released?

Thank you.
R