Valley of Gods is a scenic area near Mexican Hat, UT. Like its more famous cousin of Monument Valley, it has buttes and pinnacles. Unlike its cousin on Navajo land, it has no tourist crowds, or entrance fees. This is BLM land, and as such it is open to hiking, backpacking, and camping without a permit. A 17 mile dirt road winds its way through the valley between Highways 163 and 261. My guess is that the road is drivable in regular passenger cars when it is dry. It was a welcome respite after seeing the crowds of tourists in Monument Valley.

We took a leisurely drive through the valley and set up camp on a flat area next to the road. During the whole afternoon, we saw probably three or fours cars pass by...

Valley of the Gods	Butte		Valley of the Gods in BW
	Castle Butte	Castle Butte	Rental Murano		Pinnacle sunset
Sunset among the buttes

I got up before the sunrise to take a few photos. Everything was quiet, both in the desert and in the sky - there were no clouds left from the previous evening. I enjoyed the valley for a while, and after packing up, we were off to our next stop.

First light			Morning road
Pointy things	Wildflowers		Yellow in a sea of red	Rough road	Juniper and a butte
My tent and a butte	Tent in the desert