Sunrise in Monument Valley, Utah, Arizona is unbelievably pretty

Monument Valley in Arizona (and also in Utah) is an iconic place. So when we got a reservation in the Monument Valley View Hotel, we were thrilled. After all, the hotel is in high demand, and the rooms sell out quickly during the tourist season. The hotel is famous, since its really the only hotel that has great view of the valley from the balconies.

We were there in March, which is likely a shoulder season, since the schools were open. The hotel was full, but I wont say it was crowded. The weather was very pleasant and chilly. We set up our camera on the balcony of the hotel to catch the sunrise.

Late at night the stars came out on the desert sky, and the buttes stood up against the starry sky like ghosts of the land. We stood there, braving the cold, and mesmerized by the beauty of the place.

Early in the morning the sun started rising on the eastern sky, and the clouds caught the colors of the sun. It was amazing. The two Mitten buttes and Merrick butte to the right provided stunning shadows against the colors of the sky.

But there was more. The clouds shifted and so did the patterns on the sky.

After a few more minutes, there was enough light to make out the valley floor, and the road that runs across it. The buttes still appeared regal, standing where they did. The clouds still had the colors, which would last a few more minutes before the brightness of the sun kicks away the desert magic, to be repeated another time. 

We felt lucky to see such an amazing sunrise. We know that clouds make the sunrise spectacular, and no two days are the same. 

May be it will be different tomorrow. But for now it was time to drive down into the valley floor and discover its treasures.

And it was indeed a different sunrise the next morning.