Title: Monument Valley Utah, viewed from Hunts Mesa. As the sun sets, the shadows of the monuments lengthen, creating a beautiful otherworldly perspective. Over 200 million years ago, this area and most of the American West was covered by a large shallow sea. These monuments were created by water currents within that sea. The Rocky Mountains thrust upward, and the sea receded into swamp and eventually became desert. Fossilized dinosaur footprints are found on the tops of the monuments. This is Navajo land and Native Americans, Navajo and before them Anasazi, have lived here for thousands of years.

On October 16, 1984, a USAF B-52 on a low altitude training run between Fairchild AFB in Spokane, Washington and Lovelace AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico crashed into Hunts Mesa very near where this photo was taken more than 20 years later. I was EMS Director for this area and though not on duty, I was called in. Assisted by a local Search and Rescue 4-wheel drive team, my EMTs and I made our way to the crash site in a heavy snow storm and rescued 5 of 7 airmen who were subsequently flown out by helicopter. The strength and endurance displayed by the injured airmen that night cannot be underestimated and we were very glad when all 5 returned a year later for a more peaceful visit to Hunts Mesa.