© Joel Zolondek

© Joel Zolondek

© Joel Zolondek

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Day 3: Hold On!

Pre-dawn crew call to hook up with Crawleys Tours for the trip up to Hunts Mesa. David hinted that it was a little known, yet spectacular view of Monument Valley. We traveled in four Suburbans, each with a guide.

The day was clear but windy and brutally cold. Travis, at one point, had so much trouble keeping the camera still (on a tripod) that we formed a human wind shield. Frequently, we raced ahead so we could set up a shot of the photogs making the long, and often harrowing, journey up to the Mesa in four wheel drive. During one particularly hairy section of (non)road, our fearless producer actually got out and walked. At one point I turned around and saw Ben in the backseat with both arms on the ceiling to brace himself! Later, when we were filming the photogs climbing this section, we realized that all four wheels were airborne at one point!

But it was all worth it. Just as we approached the final ascent to the mesa top, our guide told us to close our eyes. When we opened them, it was the most amazing view I've ever seen. To me, this view of Monument Valley from on high was more stunning than even the Grand Canyon.

Everyone was completely jazzed and busily unpacking photographic equipment. Despite the wind blowing, the TV crew found a sheltered spot below the lip of Hunt's Mesa and shot a very touching and personal interview with David. You see, he had come to this very spot with his parents many times and it was right there on Hunt's Mesa, that he decided to pursue photography seriously. He hadn't been back since sometime in the 1960s.

After lunch and shooting we dropped down to Spider Web Arch in Mystery Canyon for a very different shooting experience in a beautiful, intimate canyon. Then it was back up to Hunt's Mesa for sunset. It was fabulous at noon but indescribably spectacular at sunset. One couldn't have scripted this scenery any better.

Now dark, the trip down from the Mesa was quite an adventure — not one you'd want to try on your own. We were in low gear in the Suburbans driving down sand dunes and gunning it through washes so we wouldn't get stuck. Let's just say it was so "wild" that one of the photogs lost her lunch on the way back to Kayenta and others looked pretty green.

We then proceeded to Gouldings Lodge for the night with thoughts of long, drawn out and very hot baths. The weather report, from Denver, showed pictures of a major storm dumping two feet of snow. We went to bed with contingency plans — 5:00 am calls to determine if the sunrise shoot was on or not.

Day 3: We're Not Lost

Phone rang at 5:15 am. We'd be leaving at 5:45 to shoot the sunrise. It was windy and freezing (literally) but no snow. Despite the wind and cold, the sunrise was wonderful with those famous mittens in the foreground. David, after working with the photogs, spoke inspiringly to the camera about the energizing effects of capturing "first light."

After a quick breakfast, the photogs piled into Gouldings vans for a guided tour of the Valley floor with us trailing in our two production vehicles. It had warmed up and we had a Georgia O'Keefe kind of day — brilliant blue skies with white, puffy clouds. We moved from one spectacular site to another all day — amazing arches, sand dunes, shimmering cottonwoods by running streams, monolithic spires ...

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