Slot Canyons, Navajo Nation and petrified wood

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We woke up the morning in Page to a bitterly cold wind and all the leaves on the trees in the campground had fallen overnight. Page marked our entrance into the Navajo Nation - the largest Native American reservation in the US covering an area stretching from the Grand Canyon to over the border in New Mexico and Glen Canyon to Petrified Forest National Park. We set out on an Antelope Canyon Tour that morning with a Navajo guide and just the two of us. The trip took about 1.5 hours as we slowly made our way through the canyon with our guide telling us about the Native American history of the slot canyons and area. The slot canyon was very narrow in places (less than a metre wide) and soared above our heads making beautiful patterns and colours in the sandstone curves.

After lunch we headed off north to Monument Valley, a stronghold for the Navajo people and also the popular backdrop of many Western movies. A self-guided drive around the monuments allowed us to not only get close to the red sandstone but also provided a unique insight into how the Navajo people live today. Many houses still use traditional hogans (igloo shaped mud and timber houses with a fire pit in the centre) and stick houses (summer storage and a cool shady place to work). We al so saw a shepherd out walking his flock. The Navajo presence in this reservation is huge and we were practically the only non-indian people in the area. They even have enough different laws and customs to make it really seem like it is a different country - was a great and interesting experience.

Was a very cold night and we ended up camping in a minor sandstone. Woke up the next morning with sand all through the tent! Driving south to Canyon de Chelly we thought that it would hopefully get warmer - we were totally wrong! A cold clear night had turned all the snow to ice and the roads were covered in ice sheets, even the main highway (I think our cold record was somewhere around this point at 3 degrees F or about -15 degrees C). Was a careful drive around Canyon de Chelly where we had planned to spend the night but after seeing the snow and ice covered campground decided to carry on south to Petrified Forest and try for a motel. Canyon de Chelly was again a great place to see how the Navajo people live as many still inhabit the bottom of the canyon right next to the magnificent Anasazi ruins. Canyon de Chelly was a very important area for the Navajo as it was a source of very fertile lands, water and shelter, much needed in the desert and so is very sacred to them.

Heading south again we eventually got rid of the snow and it finally got above freezing for the first time in 2 days - felt positively warm! Arrived at Petrified Forest National Park quite late in the day so was a relaxing time looking at the Painted Desert, Puerco Pueblo, petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock, Blue Mesa and the petrified logs at Crystal Garden. We had managed to pick up a few discount papers for motels in the area so found a nice cheap place in Holbrook for the night to help us thaw out.

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Comments

[betsey]

i once went there
it was a joy to hear fo your travels through navajo country. here on the east coast in my warm kitchen you helped me touch that far, auster landscape full of the gosts of potters speaking to the cloud people. enjoy

[Nicky]

Awesome photos
Have really enjoyed your journals Can't wait to see the rest of your shots