Blogs from Navajo Nation Reservation, Arizona, United States, North America - page 2

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 ... read more

March 21 - April 2, 2006 Palm Springs, Calif. - Canyon de Chelly, Ariz. Mile 3,834 On our trek into the southwest—destination Canyon de Chelly—we’ve been offered several different pronunciations of the famous Anasazi dwelling place. Upon arrival in the Navajo Nation, we received the definitive answer: it’s not Canyon de Shelly, but d’Shay, as in the French. I was a bit disappointed! Jeff and I began this chapter in California’s contradictory Coachella Valley, a seemingly arid desert in which thrives Palm Springs, with its acres of green golf courses; the San Andreas Fault, whose folded rock forces groundwater up to the surface and feeds native palm oases; and the most productive (nonnative and irrigated) date palm “gardens” in the country. Date milkshake, anyone? Our hosts in the Palm Springs metropolis (La Quinta, actually), were the ... read more