Road Trip - Day 9 - Canyon de Chelly National Park
8.45 a.m. 63 degrees. Cold and windy.
We were lucky to get out of the canyon in one piece. All in all, it was quite a day. It started normally enough though. As we were not driving anywhere today, we took our time having breakfast. We reported to the Gift Shop at Tunderbird Lodge just before 9. As the weather looked a little unpredictable we were in long pants and sweatshirts and had our raincoats with us. There was a bit of confusion as to whre we should wait. We were on the all day trip but there was not only a private tour going out but also a half day tour.
At 9.10 all those on the day long tour were collected and taken to our 4×4 truck. There were 16 of us on the trip and George was our Navajo guide. The truck was large and uncovered. The seats were padded but it was all a bit basic.
There is a road round the south rim and the north rim but the only cars allowed onto the canyon floor are tour jeeps or private SUVs as long as they have a Navajo guide with them. The valley floor with just sand with no proper roads at all.
Just inside the canyon George stopped the truck, climbed out of the cab and told us of the history of Canyon de Chelly. The first inhabitants of the canyon were probably the Anasazi Indians from 300 - 1300 and the first structures in the cliffs were probably built by them. Nobody knows why the Anasazi Indians left the canyon, it might have been due to illness or prolonged drought. The Hopi Indians were the next residents, though they only lived here in the summer. Some Hopi still come every year to plant crops. The Navajo Indians moved into the canyon about 1700 and they live here all year round.
He went on to say that there are three main canyons but many smaller ones. They were carved out by streams from the Chuska mountains to the east and by wind and rain. The streams are tiny now and just run off from the mountains. Within the canyon thee are two main dangers - flash floods and quick sands. Apparently quick sands do not stay in one place but move around so you never know when you are going to run into one. George said there were many vehicles buried in the sand.
We stopped at some ruins to take photos. They were some way up the sheer rock face. When the National Park took over the canyon, the Navajo wanted the ruins to be protected so all trails, foot and toe holds to all ruins in the park were erased and fenced off.
Our next stop was the junction where two of the canyons joined. George told us that he heard on the radio that it was raining up at Spider Rock. As it was at the highest elevation and the furthest distance away he decided to go there first instead of the Mummy Caves. We felt a few spots of rain so George handed out rain ponchos. I took one but Tom didn’t. We passed the White House Ruins. This is the only place where you can walk into the canyon. There are signs and fences around stopping people venturing into the canyon proper without a guide. We drove straight past. It began to rain heavily and I was pleased of the poncho.
October 01 2007 | Further Afield | 2 Comments »
