Inspired largely by an iconic photograph of native Americans on horseback in the canyon taken in the late 1880s by Edward Curtis, we ventured to this epicenter of Navajo culture and history. Canyon de Chelly is amazing! Located in the heart of the Navajo Nation in north-eastern Arizona, the canyon is almost 50 miles long and only ten miles of it is open to the public while the rest is only accessible by Navajos. To begin to get acquainted with this sacred space, we drove along the south rim on our first evening and took a picture at sunset at one of the six turnouts along the south rim drive. It’s about a 700′ drop only ten feet behind us!
During this drive, at the first turnout, we meet Mary. She appeared to be in her 70s and has 11 children (eight daughters and three sons), 27 grand-children, and three great-grandchildren. Her small home — which she described as a “two room shanty with electricity but no water” — is at the top of the canyon, and as we marveled at the canyon, she proudly stated: “This is my front yard!”
The next day we took a jeep ride for three hours into the north canyon with Daniel, a Navajo guide. He grew up in the canyon and knows every inch of it. Many of his cousins, brothers, and even his grandfather, drive tourists into the canyon, as one of his part-time jobs. Along with his knowledge of Navajo culture and history, Daniel has an eye for photography and took us to some great spots for Sue to work on her landscape photography skills. (See below for a photo link to a page of Sue’s photos at Canyon de Chelly.)
Daniel also told us that the National Park made a video of his family, specifically his daughters telling the story of the Navajo tradition in the canyon. We encourage you to take 14 minutes to watch this wonderful video!
http://www.pbs.org/video/2365731822/
We camped in the Cottonwood Campground near the Canyon de Chelly Visitor Center, and experienced our first ‘dry camping’ site of our trip… meaning no water and no electricity hookups. There was also no AT&T cellular data nor WiFi available in the campground, so it was a really relaxing and enjoyable respite for these Silicon Valley types that love email and FB!
Click here to see an additional page of Sue’s photography at Canyon de Chelly.
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Ted and Sue