Police World Edition 2 2015

Article

A Monumental Journey of Discovery After watching all the old John Ford movie westerns, which were filmed in Monument Valley, it was always an ambition of John Elliott to visit this iconic American western location. John describes his trip below. T hanks to the IPA I was put in touch with Andy Karas, an ex Los Angeles and Las Vegas police officer, who lives in Las

Vegas, just off the famous strip where from his front yard you can see the big hotels such as the Mandalay Bay. He very kindly offered me accommodation at his home and to drive up to Monument Valley - a total of 424 miles! Andy met me at McCarran Airport and two days later we had completed a 7 hour road journey to Monument Valley and were settling in for the night in a hotel in Kayenta - the nearest small town to the valley. This part of the USA is largely desert and mountains, and has very little in the way of cities with just a scattering of a few small towns. Monument Valley is on the Arizona / Utah state line and is characterised by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes the largest reaching 1000 feet high above the valley floor. It is part of the Navajo Nation and has been defined for decades of what film goers imagine the American west to be. It is said to be the greatest outdoor museum in the world and is one of the most photographed places on earth.

Greg O’Connor

John Elliot and Andy Karas

To see it at its best, Andy and I booked a tour with Goulding’s Tours and were

There were a number of offences like no seat belts and using a mobile phone while driving. He also dealt with the aftermath of an accident. A number of stops were made on vehicles with unsafe loads although some drivers were just given advice. Every time we made a stop he was on to his control checking the vehicle and driver. It was never received your message, it was always ‘copy’. What really impressed me was how he entered all the evidence into his onboard computer which printed out the ‘citation’ on the spot - this was then handed to the offenders with details how to respond.

driven around the Valley by a local Navajo guide. It is such an awe inspiring place that makes you really think you are in the land of giants. The landscape overwhelms you, not just by its beauty, but by its sheer size and colour. As part of the tour, our guide gave a demonstration in making clothing and blankets from home spun wool, while sitting in her ‘hogan’ - the name given to the traditional cone shaped housing. It was a privilege to visit Monument Valley and see the wonderful sights that we have all seen before but on the silver screen. I also enjoyed the fact that in taking a tour I had contributed to the well-being of the Navajo and their children for whom a High School has been built near to the site of Harry Goulding’s trading post. On my return to Las Vegas with Andy he had a surprise arranged for me. His son is in the Las Vegas Police and he made it possible for me to go out with Greg O’Conner, a Highway Patrolman. It was a great experience to go out for 7 hours with him on the freeways around Las Vegas. I borrowed Andy’s body armour which was really heavy. What impressed me most was how diligent Greg was in carrying out his duties.

Thanks Greg for a great experience. John Elliott , Nottinghamshire branch

In 1928, Harry Goulding and his wife Leone built a trading post to trade with the local Navajo. When Harry heard that the famous film director John Ford was looking for a location to make a western film they took photos of the Valley to him in Hollywood. Ford fell in love with this area and made his first western there called ‘Stagecoach’, starring John Wayne in 1938. The rest is history.

The Navajo guide

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POLICE WORLD Vol 60 No. 2, 2015