Day 23--Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly, Chinle Wash

Delbert, our guide to Canyon de Chelly

Our guided trip up Canyon de Chelly was scheduled to begin at 9 with Oscar Bia of Canyon de Chelly Ancient Jeep Tours. I wondered whether the name of the company meant that all their vehicles were ancient, but the Jeep Wrangler we were in was certainly not, even though I'm sure it had been through some rough rides during its lifetime! 

Oscar was unable to drive us, but he sent one of his most experienced guides, Delbert Price, to show us the canyon. Delbert's mother and father are from this area, and Delbert's wife and family live nearby. He told us he had been one of the tour guides for the lodge where we are staying until it was sold to someone who didn't want to buy the tour part of the company. This opened an opportunity for locals to set up tour guide businesses. There are now at least a dozen local companies offering this service.

Anasazi ruins

We learned a lot from Delbert, who was very willing to share information about the history of people in the canyon. Ruins from the early inhabitants, the Anasazi, are evident throughout the canyon. The Hopi arrived next, respecting the ruins and remains of the Anasazi, and stayed until the Navajo arrived. After a while, the Hopi left rather than fight with the Navajo.

We saw pictographs in the areas of the ruins that showed drawings from all three groups, the Anasazi, the Hopi, and the Navajo. One of these depicts the massacre of many Navajo during the 1860s. 

Pictographs

Our jeep ride took us into only a small part of this very large area. There is only one entrance into the canyon, and that is by driving through the Chinle Wash, which today had a good deal of water in it. Delbert told us stories of how this was a true spring-fed river many years ago until dams were added upstream, essentially stopping the regular flow of water into the canyon and changing the landscape dramatically.

After seeing the inspiring view from within the canyon with Delbert (and after a short rest and some lunch), we drove the South Rim Drive, stopping at each overlook for a very different view. The rim roads (both north and south) are maintained by the Department of the Interior. The canyon itself belongs to the Navajo Nation, and some families still occupy the land in the canyon, most on a part-time basis. As we drove along the rim road, the walls of the canyon became taller and taller, until at the end of the canyon, they soared nearly 1000 feet above the canyon floor (per Delbert). 

Spider Rock, seen from South Rim Drive

This was truly a spectacular place. I appreciated the calm, peaceful atmosphere both in the canyon and in the area where we stayed, Sacred Canyon Lodge, which is inside the boundaries of the National Monument. You can read more details on Wikipedia.

Hogan, Canyon de Chelly

Speaking of the name, Sacred Canyon Lodge, Smoky asked Delbert today about the sacred nature of the canyon. Delbert had a different interpretation--he said the canyon was a spiritual place to the Navajo people, but not a sacred place. No visitors would be allowed into a place sacred to the Navajo. This makes a lot of sense to me. Even though there were far too many violent deaths in this canyon, the Navajo people choose to let it be, to honor the land. Perhaps the land has healed itself from all the terrible things that happened there. It is certainly beautiful today.

Prickly pear cactus in bloom, South Rim Drive

Tomorrow we head for Cortez, Colorado.

--Shann