QUESTION: We will be at the Grand Canyon and would like to visit Monument Valley. How far is it? What does a visit involve? ANSWER: Monument Valley, which straddles the Arizona-Utah border, is about 175 miles from the Grand Canyon.
According to the Monument Valley visitor center, the drive takes about three and a half hours. The valley, about 30,000 acres, is at the northern edge of the Navajo reservation.
There, on table land at about 5,000 feet, erosion has created fantastic structures of red and orange sandstone that have served as the setting for numerous movie westerns, most notably those of John Ford.
Around 40 of the dozens of mesas, buttes, cliffs, canyons and gullies are named - John Ford's Point, the Thumb, Elephant Butte and North Window among them.
The visitor center is four miles southeast on a turnoff from U.S. 163 just north of the Utah border. There is an admission fee to the valley of $2.50 a person. Visitors can drive their own car on a 17-mile loop through the valley.
The roads are unpaved and rather rutted in places, and the going is slow. The drive takes 90 minutes to two hours, the visitor center says. For information, Monument Valley, Navajo Tribal Park, Post Office Box 360289, Monument Valley, Utah 84536; (801) 727-3287.
There are several companies that offer guided tours of Monument Valley. One, about three miles from the visitor center, is Goulding's Lodge, Post Office Box 1, Monument Valley Utah 84536; (801) 727-3231.
Using a four-wheel drive van, the lodge offers three-and-a-half-hour tours of the valley for $25, including a visit to a Navajo dwelling, or hogan. Tours leave at 9 a.m. and 1:30 and 4 p.m. The lodge also offers full-day tours that take in Mystery Valley to the south, a cookout lunch and Monument Valley. On the lodge grounds are a motel (rooms, $84 a night, are often reserved well in advance) and a restaurant. The original trading post has been re-created as a museum, which also has a room of John Ford and John Wayne memorabilia.
Four-wheel drive tours are also offered from the visitor center by Bennett Tours. A two-and-a-half-hour tour is $15 a person, and a full-day tour that also goes through Mystery Valley is $42 a person if there are at least three participants. It is best to to reserve: Bennett Tours, Post Office Box 360285, Monument Valley, Utah 84536; (801) 727-3283.
Fred's Adventure Tours, (801) 739-4292, offers hiking to the back country of Monument Valley, along ancient Indian trails. Visitors may climb to the top of a mesa for a sweeping view. Fred Cly will also arrange photography outings. A two-and-a-half-hour hike is $15 a person and a full day is $40. Contact Fred's Adventure Tours, Post Office Box 310308, Mexican Hat, Utah 84531; (801) 739-4292.
Guided horseback rides are offered by Ed's Horse Tour; the stables are near the visitor center. A 90-minute ride is $20; three hours is $35, and a full day is $50. Reservations are necessary. Contact Edward Black, Post Office Box 155, Mexican Hat, Utah 84531; (801) 739-4285.
QUESTION: I will be in Spain in October and would like to attend an opera in Barcelona and a zarzuela performance in Madrid. How do I find out what will be available then and how do I get tickets?
ANSWER: A schedule of musical events in Barcelona is available from the Tourist Office of Spain, 665 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022; (212) 759-8822. The opera season in Barcelona is September to early July.
To get tickets for the opera in Barcelona contact Gran Teatre del Liceu, Department d'Abonaments i Localitats, 65 Rambla de Caputxins, 08001 Barcelona, Spain; telephone 318 9122. If you are phoning from the United States, the country code for Spain is 34 and the city code is 3. You must speak Catalan or Spanish.
If writing, include your name, address, phone number, desired dates, number of tickets and seat locations. If your requested seats are not available, the box office will inform you of alternative dates. If you then want tickets, you must mail payment in pesetas by check or international money order.
In August the box office is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.After Sept. 3, tickets can be bought Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Spain is five hours ahead of the Eastern time.) Tickets are $12 to $480.
The zarzuela, the Spanish light opera, is offered from September to mid-June at the Teatro Lirico Nacional La Zarzuela, 4 Jovellanos, 28014 Madrid; 429 8225.
The box office is open daily from noon to 6 p.m. local time when there is no performance, and stays open until 8 p.m. on performance nights. Attendants do speak some English.
QUESTION:I am traveling to Frankfurt this summer. How strect are restrictions at the airport? Will there be any problems in carrying a 35-millimeter camera and other elctronic devices?
ANSWER: As during the gulf war crisis, passengers at Frankfurt-Main Airport must pass through electronic surveillance gates, submit to personal searches and have all carry-on items, including bags and cameras, pass through an X-ray inspection machine. An airport spokesman said that passengers are still requested not to take electronic devices like shavers, radios or electronic games unless "absolutely necessary." Cameras, though, are "usually not a problem," the spokesman said. A traveler carrying a laptop computer can expect some pointed questions and should have some documentation giving a legitimate reason for having it, like a press pass or business papers.