We left Farmington and headed to Fruitdale, Hatches Trading Post. Maybe the only real trading post left. They did trade, the locals came in with weavings, carvings, baskets, and pawned these bags of stuff for money. After 60 days the Trading Post could sell the pawned goods, but these people at Hatches still have bags of goods that they feel belongs to the families, even after 40 years, There is a huge vault with pawned goods, and the gentle salesperson (a retired policeman, no, law enforcement man) said that these goods would go back to the families, sometime. His dad, is now 97, and has loved the trading post. A family tradition, they ran many posts around the area.
We looked at earrings, bracelets and rugs, and ended up a little bit richer.
We looked at earrings, bracelets and rugs, and ended up a little bit richer.
We arrived hungry and tired at Canyon de Chelly, a canyon many say is second to the Grand Canyon
https://www.nps.gov/cach/index.htm we booked into the Holiday Inn (with pool) and two rooms. We had driven through Navajo country for several hours, and I wonder why I started feeling depressed. Passing run down trailer homes and junky sprawling areas. Does it have to look like this? Where is the beauty of the culture that once was? I was so sad that it felt wrong to take pictures.
A dinner at the Navajo Thunderbird Lodge, cafeteria style, fascinating to sit among Indian families and eat Navajo tacos and burgers. http://www.thunderbirdlodge.com/restaurant-and-historic-trading-post/ I would not recommend the food, but the experience was interesting.
Out to a sundown drive along the southern rim of the park. Overlooks, looking down the steep 700 meter steep cliffs. Beautiful canyons, cliffs, cliff dwellings from the Anasazi peoples times (1-1300 years A.D)..
Threatening clouds and glimpses of the sun and blue skies refreshed us, and as the sun closed the day behind the clouds, we marveled in awe of the landscape, the history, creation, colours, textures, flowers, shapes that surrounded us. A Navajo woman told her teenage girls the legend of the Spider Woman. http://www.canyondechelly.net/story_teller.html
The darkness crept up on us and we found home.
Travelling with one day stops now, unpacking, planning, finding healthy meals, choosing the BEST of the many experiences, can be tiring. So last night was Holiday Inn, today is a Navajo TIPI village, looking out on a BMW cabriolet parked right beside a beautiful TIPI. Staying in a beautiful octagon house, looking out on the monuments of monument valley.
Up this morning at 5:15 to hike with Sasha down 600 feet to White House ruins. A beautiful hike, stones with lines, fallen rocks, cliffs rising from the bottom of the valley. And 600 feet up again. Yes, I can feel my knees! We were the first ones down on the trail! And I felt quite proud when I got my body up again!
Fresh at 9 am for a guided tour of the canyons with Davisen, in a jeep, through the little river from spring melting in the mountains. A Navajo man, not the best guide in the world. Too many questions that he could not answer (or not willing to answer), but it was beautiful to see the canyons from below. So many colours of green. So many amazing rock formations. The cottonwood trees so green, with the black trunks shining through, against the red rocks.
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| White house ruins |
We then drove to Monument Valley – a very special place with monuments rising out of the flat and rolling ground – only 100 km. away from the huge canyon. So many contrasts.
Strong young Sasha took off on an evening hike to Teardrop Arch, while we oldies relaxed in our octagon at Tipi Village
What a day - tired and hungry we ate an excellent beef mignon at Gouldings
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