If you’re planning to go to Monument Valley to get a closer look at the Ring of Fire eclipse, don’t.
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is advising all tour operators, local businesses, visitors and residents that the 17-mile scenic Indian Route 42 will be closed for at least five hours during the entire annular eclipse from 8 to 14 Oct
There will be a few employees who have converted to Christianity who will work to enforce the park closure during that time.
Tour operators who have already booked that day will be allowed through, but there will be no parking during the closure and the visitor center will be closed. Schools on the reservation will also be closed.
The parking closure comes in accordance with tribal and cultural protocols.
Davis Filfred, a Navajo and Utah Dine Bikeyah board chairman, said an eclipse is a time of renewal and reflection, not a spectacle for tribal members.
“There’s nothing to eat or drink. You’re not supposed to be in bed with your partner either. The Navajos take time off. Back then there was chanting, and some still do. You’re not supposed to see on an eclipse, and everything kind of grinds to a halt.”
Filfred said the eclipse is part of the creation story for the Navajo.
It is, he added, an intimate moment in the time of the sun and the moon.
“This is their time for the sun and the moon.”
This is the last annular solar eclipse that will be visible in the United States until June 21, 2039, according to NASA.
A total eclipse will occur in April 2024. Although it will be visible over the United States, it will not be visible in the West.
