Day 72 & 73 - Monument Valley, AZ

We've visited Monument Valley previously, staying in The View Hotel, but we love this place and wanted to go back. This time we decided to camp on the sand dunes that overlook the valley.

If you recognise Monument Valley, it's probably from the many films it has featured in including Stagecoach, The Searchers, Easy Rider, Forrest Gump, The Eiger Sanction and more recently, Doctor Who. You'll see one of these famous scenes being recreated by Sam in our video.

After a yummy meal in the restaurant, sampling different traditional Navajo dishes, we headed back to the campsite to watch the sun set on the Mittens and Merrick Butte. In the distance, the sky looked unfriendly and sure enough, a distant storm built and impressed us with some lightning.

The storm was a long way away - we couldn't hear the associated thunder - but when the wind suddenly picked up, we made the decision to put the fly on the tent. Shortly afterwards, after taking some more photos, we retired to the tent

The wind grew stronger and stronger, and the lightning got nearer. The tent's frame bent and creaked as the wind, coming straight off the valley floor, buffeted us. Looking around at the forty or so tents around us, most were 2-man domes which seemed to hug the sand and deflect much of the wind due to their aerodynamic shape. Ours, by contrast, attempted to stand proud, like a Stella-laden oik facing up to a bouncer three times his size. And just like that Saturday-night scenario, there was only one winner.

With the fly now on, it was difficult to judge whether the storm was coming our way. The winds increased further, almost flattening the tent at one stage, and with what felt like an uncomfortably short delay between lightning and thunder, we decided to decamp - the first time we had done so. Scooping up our electricals, we scurried up the hill to the safety of Fin.

Sitting in Fin, as even he rocked to the windy onslaught, we saw a few others scramble up the dunes to their cars. Most people, it seemed, wanted to ride the storm out.

Sitting in Fin wasn't a nice experience. Half of me wondered whether we should have stayed with the tent, whilst the other imagined a twisted pile of Aluminum and polyester awaiting our return. Every time we thought the wind was easing, it would pick up again.

The rain never reached the campsite, and after about an hour we decided to return to the tent. The wind was still strong, but I think our concern for the tent won us over and we headed back down.

We were relieved to see it was still in one piece. A couple of the pegs had been yanked out, and the fly was making one hell of a noise. After trying to firm up the fly, I took the decision to take the gear garage (the storage area the fly provides on one end of the tent) down and tried to tuck it under the rest of the tent.

This helped to a certain extent, so it was time to try to get some sleep. There was almost as much sand inside the tent as there was outside, and every gust of wind caused me to sit upright and peer into the darkness wondering about the integrity of the structure. I must have fallen asleep at some stage, because the next thing I remember was waking up to sunlight, calmness and the chatter of neighbours exchanging stories of the night before.

The tent, and its occupants, had survived the night. We had all passed our harshest test to date (although the tent would complain that the humans got a timeout half way through!) Apart from a few bent poles - and I'm not sure how this affects things going forward - the camping adventure continues!