After a one-hour horseback ride in the morning with Sacred Monument Tours, my son and I had lunch at Gouldings, then returned to the View hotel for a 2 1/2 hour afternoon ride through Monument Valley aboard an open-air van with the Three Sisters Navajo Guided Tours. As it turned out, we were the only passengers.
Our Navajo guide, Amory, guided us up and over backcountry trails that only tours (not private cars) are allowed to traverse. Quite bumpy at times (Amory called it a "Navajo massage") but bearable, even enjoyable. In addition to such sites as John Ford point, the Three Sisters and The Mittens, Amory (who grew up in MV herding his family's sheep) showed us some points only a local would know, such as the canyon of echoes, the moccasin arch, a trading post selling beautiful and very affordable handcrafted turquoise jewelry, and a Navajo hogan where a young women demonstrated the technique for weaving Navajo rugs.
So glad we booked this tour!