Chaco Canyon:
We were excited to get to see Chaco Canyon which is a sacred area of the Navajos. The drive was to be only a couple of hours so we left the campsite around 8:00 and headed out to the Canyon hoping to be there around noon or before. We entered the Navaho Reservation territory only to find that the roads were horrible. They were gravel, bumpy and quite scary considering there was no one in sight. the landscape is completely flat, no gas stations, no water, no electricity, nothing. We continued to drive thinking the canyon was just a short distance away. It was not far according to the GPS, however, we could only go about 3 miles per hour. The RV starts to rattle and bang around with things falling out of the cabinets. Mark is getting a bit nervous! Around 3:00 in the afternoon, we still had 30 miles to go on the rough road. We were getting very worried that we would lose daylight and we could be in very serious trouble. We decided to turn around and slowly make our way to Gallup, NM. It was another 3 hours arriving there around 6:30. The van seems to be in good shape all things considered. Lesson learned, do not drive on reservation gravel roads, ever.
Cathy and Bill had told us about a great hotel in Gallup that used to house Hollywood actors and actresses back in the 40’s when they were filming cowboy movies. We called ahead and booked a room. We were tired, cranky, and dirty. We hadn’t had a shower in 4 days. The hotel was wonderful. It was full of cowboy memorbelia and photos of the actors that had been there. We stayed in Betty Grabel’s room. The shower was hot and felt perfectly wonderful. The restaurant was playing Christmas music, cowboy and Mexican style!
In the morning, we visited Window Rock. It is located where the Navaho tribal members meet. It is a large windswept hole appearing in an outcropping of red rocks. Nature has done an extraordinary job of creating lovely landscapes. As we strolled around we saw a statue in honor of the Code Talkers of World War II. These men used their language and created a code system that was unrecognizable by the Japanese who were quite adept at decoding secret messages. They are credited with saving thousands of lives. We talked with a Navaho man on his way in to the meeting. We told him what a lovely spot this was to honor those men. He was wearing his Vietnam jacket and told us he proudly served in that war.
The 2 hour drive to Canyon De Chelly was well worth the drive. We drove through the Navaho Forest, a protected area of forestry. It was the first time in many days that we were in a forest of tall pine trees. The elevation slowly increased to a height of 7000 feet. The air thinned out and was noticeable cooler. The sun is still warm and we are thankful that the days are sunny. The temperature is about 25 at night but climbs to about 40 in the sun during the day.
Canyon De Chelly is in Arizona just over the border from New Mexico. Having left the Navaho Forest, the land once again flattens out to unbelievable scenery of nothing but scrub brush with mountains off in the distance. Not a tree in sight for miles. There was a moment we thought that we were not on the right road and there no sign of a canyon. We did arrive at the visitors center and decided to take the south rim tour, about 2 hours. The canyon was amazing. The windswept corridors of the canyon walls were red with shades of white. Swirls formed on the walls from the weather beating winds of the area. It is the location of ancient canyon dwellers. They farmed the land at the bottom of the canyon about 800 years ago. There were remnants of their dwellings still there. One particular area was called the White House due to the limestone remains of the building. We hiked wherever we could to see deep into the canyon. At some places the drop off was 700 feet deep. These native peoples were amazing architects, farmers, and family people creating communities of small groups.
We found a campsite near the canyon. There is no one here. We did come prepared with water and we have a generator for heat which we will need later tonight. The temperature will drop into the 20’s tonight so I think we will be using our generator. Mark cooked a steak on the grill with roasted veggies in tin foil. It tasted great but eating outside was really chilly.
I have grown very fond of the lands known as Indian Territory. It is a harsh, flat, brown, sandy, dry land. The people here though do not reflect this harsh environment. They are warm and wonderfully friendly. How amazing to live in this desolation and yet remain so kind and thoughtful. I do not want to ignore the fact that alcoholism is a major problem and poverty is evident everywhere. There is a sadness here but a pride in their heritage and a love for their families and communities.
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