Sandstone Glow - Monument Valley, Navajo Nation

Two weeks ago, I posted this photo of the East Mitten before sunrise and last week, I posted this photo of the sun just cresting the horizon. Today's post is just minutes later as the sun cleared the horizon. I wasn't planning on doing a series of photos as the sun rose, but the morning was so magical that I felt compelled to do so. Like the other two photos, I took these photos from the balcony of the View Hotel. This image shows the light gradually lighting up Sentinel Mesa (on the left) while the rock formation to the right is still in silhouette. One of the more interesting things about Monument Valley are the cool names that the rock formations have. Many of the names originate from the Navajo or the settlers to the region. The rock formation on the right is actually several formations, but the angle makes it look like one. The rock formations names (left to right) are The Stagecoach; The Bear and the Rabbit; and The Castle. When you see them from a different angle, you know why they had those names.