Canyon de Chelly: Beauty in the Navajo Nation

Beauty before me, with it I wander.

Beauty behind me, with it I wander.

Beauty below me, with it I wander.

Beauty above me, with it I wander.

Beauty all around me, with it I wander.

On the beautiful trail I am.

- 1906 translation of Navajo song by Washington Matthews

We are surrounded by beauty all the time, but sometimes it seems out of reach. Sometimes the ugliness that we make blinds us to what lies before, behind, below, above and beyond. Sometimes the ugliness is just so big we can't seem to find our way around it. Sometimes it's only a distracting dot on the camera lens or a bug on the windshield.  I keep trying my best to see the beauty.

The Navajo Nation embraces hundreds of miles of beauty and it's share of ugliness too. The juxtaposition is sometimes puzzling, but not so different from everywhere else. Do we somehow expect the Native Peoples of this country to always demonstrate the values that their songs and poems espouse?  Do we want them to embody something that the rest of us somehow can't manage? Is this an idealization of a people just as human and diverse as we all are?

Yesterday we drove the backroads of northeastern Arizona to get to Canyon de Chelly. The journey took us through some beautiful backcountry and the Navajo communities of Oak Springs, St. Michaels, Ganado, Navajo, Tsaile, Window Rock and Fort Defiance. These aren't tourist destinations, and so we had the chance to see living communities that support their own people, not the visitors.  We were impressed with the new large schools and hospitals throughout the area. We also saw hundreds of typical homesteads and small farms with small prefabricated houses often paired with traditional hogans on the same property.  

Our first stop of the day was at the Hubbell Trading Post, a National Historic Site.  It has been a working mercantile, selling groceries, supplies and Native arts since 1878 and is maintained in its functional yet historic state. 

Hubbell Trading Post

Our destination was Canyon de Chelly (say "deshay") just east of Chinle. It's a somewhat remote and less visited canyon with about ten ancestral Pueblo ruins.  It can be viewed from its North and South Rim Drives, but the canyon floor can only be accessed with a Navajo guide. (The single exception to this is the White House Trail which does lead down into a limited section of the canyon floor.) No dogs are allowed anywhere below the rim, so because of Honey, we chose to view the canyon from the series of overlooks along the two drives.

View from the Tunnel Overlook

The Canyon is a beautiful place, with a quiet, peaceful atmosphere, even from the overlooks. It made me just want to hang out.

The White House Ruins

I could definitely see why people would want to live here. It's protected, green year round, fertile, and again, so peaceful. This is early spring, so the leaves and grass are not yet at their fullest.

View from the Spider Rock Overlook

The peace was occasionally broken by tour jeeps and the pick-up trucks of locals driving along the bottom.  Yes, people still live and farm in the canyon, raising livestock and crops. They don't live in anything like the communal Pueblo structures of the ancestral residents.

Farm with hogan on canyon floor

View from Mummy Cave Overlook

An intact mult-storied Mummy Cave Ruin

Because we had Honey in the car and it wasn't always appropriate to let her out to walk with us due to 700 ft. drop offs, we sometimes just took turns walking out to the view points from the parking lots.  On one of those occasions I was lucky to see a pair of peregrine falcons flying below the rim.  My first! It's rare to see any birds of prey from above!

Peregrin falcon at Mummy Cave Overlook

I'd say that viewing Canyon de Chelly from the rims is very reasonable in one day, depending on how far you have to drive to get there. Overnighting in Chinle is possible as well, making it a more relaxed day. We drove home on Rt. 12 from Tsaile to Rt. 40, and that was a beautiful drive to top off a beautiful day. I'll just leave you with some beautiful drive-by photos to enjoy.

 May we all be on the beautiful path, every day.

Four Geological POIs in Arizona

We've been gradually traveling east through Arizona on I-40, stopping for a few days to a week at a time to see what there is to see along the way.  Unlike the richly vegetated desert around Tucson and Phoenix, the territory in eastern AZ is a monochromatic beige, sparsely covered with what I would call scrub brush and tumble weed. But, hidden in the nooks and crannies off the highway is some pretty surprising scenery.  Four unusual geological features drew our attention.

We made a rest stop between Williams and Holbrook, near Winslow, to see the Meteor Crater, aka Barringer's Crater, a privately owned attraction about 5 miles off the highway, with plenty of parking for RVs.  (No dogs allowed in the attraction. Fortunately it was a cool, breezy day, so Honey waited in the car for awhile.)

There is a nice visitor's center with an admission fee, which houses a museum,  restrooms, a gift shop, a courtyard, a Subway (!),  access to the crater via various walkways, balconies and overlooks...

...and a very neat view of Mount Humphreys in Flagstaff.

The crater is described as "the best preserved meteorite impact site on Earth" by the Meteor Crater company, and is 2.4 miles in circumference, obviously too big to fit in my camera frame. Here we have side A...

 ...and side B.

Two of the overlook structures provide viewing scopes directed at points of interest in the crater.  Bring your binoculars if you really are interested in seeing anything. Glad we saw what we did, but I wouldn't make it a destination. If you wanted to though, there was a very nice looking RV park right off Rt. 40 at the exit to Meteor Crater. 

Once settled in Holbrook at the KOA there (another place I wouldn't make a destination), we explored the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert, which is a subdivision of the National Park.  Holbrook is one of those towns that had a booming history when Rt. 66 brought tourists through for overnights and meals. Now it's almost a ghost town. Many old motels and restaurants, half of which seem to be closed down. 

The Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park is a great day trip from Holbrook though.  There is a 20 mile scenic drive through both parts of the park, with a Visitor's Center at each end, AND dogs are allowed everywhere in the park except in the buildings. That's really unusual for national parks. So we all took the scenic drive, stopping at overlooks and trails. 

Heading north from I-40 you come first to the Painted Desert Visitors Center and then a series of overlooks giving you these kinds of views of a relatively small portion of the Painted Desert. 

The Painted Desert is actually a large colorful badlands desert that arcs about 120 by 60 miles across northeastern Arizona and the Navajo Nation.  On the far left of the above picture you can see the Painted Desert Inn (also below). It's an historic building, serving as an inn in some form for over 100 years. It's a beautiful building, inside and out, and worth a stop.

The scenic drive proceeds south, crosses under I-40 and enters the Petrified Forest area. First you pass the TeePees (below).

Then you enter the large Blue Mesa area, where many of the petrified logs can be seen. Some are precariously perched atop the hills while others have washed down into the eroded valleys.

The Blue Mesa is named for the eroded and dramatically exposed blue, purple and white mudstone layers of the larger Chinle Formation.

The Blue Mesa Trail is a nice dog-friendly walk through the area. 

Standing on the edge of the mesa you can see the eroded run-off of many colors. 

At one of the pull-offs you can walk to the Agate Bridge - a very large petrified log that spans a small canyon.  The National Park was created to protect these large deposits of petrified wood from commercial, professional and hobbyist rock hounds. The surrounding communities are just chock-a-block full of purveyors of petrified wood, hopefully collected from private lands.  You can still find some historic buildings built from petrified wood, and city buildings with fence posts and walls made of the colorful stuff.  Everyone seems to have at least one big hunk in their yard.

The Agate Bridge

Near the southern end of the park there are many more opportunities to see lots of petrified wood, and to purchase pieces, large and small as well. We succumbed and got a little polished chunk glued to a magnet for our fridge.

The fourth geological feature we visited was Window Rock (below) which besides being an interesting sight, is a town and the government center of the Navajo Nation.  Think of it as roughly equivalent to a state capitol where the tribal council, courts, attorneys, law enforcement, education, and other social services have their headquarters. 

The government buildings are nestled among the cliffs and prominences. 

Next to Window Rock itself there is a Tribal Veterans Memorial Park, including a statue honoring the Navajo Code Talkers.

Now we're in Gallup, NM, Native American arts and crafts capital of the world, coping with high winds and blowing dust. We hope to make an excursion to Canyon de Chelly one of these days, when the wind dies down. 

Rick and Honey say "Hi from the Great Southwest!"

Three Views of the Grand Canyon, Part Three: From on Top of a Mule

I've always wanted to go down into the Canyon on a mule, but never imagined it would really happen. I had heard that reservations were required 13 months ahead of time, and we're just never sure of where we're going to be that far ahead. But I had also heard that there was a day-before waiting list for cancellations, so I thought I'd give that a shot. When I called the reservation desk they said there were also some other openings! Four, in fact, for a few days away. So I snapped one up, complete with an overnight cabin at Phantom Ranch, and began my preparations. (Rick wasn't so interested so he volunteered for puppy duty. Thank you, thank you, thank you Rick.) 

I found this map of the route we took, with the vertical profile in the upper lefthand corner. Many thanks to the Chronic Climber Chick, who created the map and hiked the whole thing. I knew I couldn't do that and I was so grateful there was another option. It is a very popular hiking route, but only 1% of the almost five million people who visit the Canyon every year get down to the bottom by any route or means.

Well, what does one bring on a mule ride into the Grand Canyon? All mule riders get about a two gallon sized plastic bag to carry anything you want to bring, so one must think very basic. Required is a wide brimmed hat with a chin strap, sunglasses, gloves, a bandana, long pants, long sleeved shirt and appropriate footwear. Obviously sun screen is a good idea, and dressing in layers. At the top it's a lot cooler than at the bottom. All food and water are provided, as well as bedding, towels and soap. Bathing suit and water shoes are also recommended for a cooling dip in Bright Angel Creek after a long ride down. I took all advice offered.

Two days before the ride Rick and I went to the park to scope out the check-in process and location. Check-in requires getting weighed, as there is a 200 lb. limit for all riders. They also want to give you all kinds of warnings and have you sign all kinds of informed consents and liability waivers. That done, all I had to do was stop at the Bright Angel Lodge registration desk to pick up my rain slicker before arriving at the Stone Corral at 7:50 AM, Monday morning. 

The morning of I drove myself there and had a heck of a time finding parking. For anyone considering this trip, have someone drive you there, or stay at the lodge so parking is not an issue the morning of departure. I arrived late but it all worked out. It turned out there were only three of us on the ride that morning. A typical ride is 10-12.  What a luxury!

(BTW there is no cell phone or internet coverage in the Canyon. Yeah!!! I brought my phone for its flashlight and alarm functions. Turns out an alarm was provided.)

My mule's name was Pauline. Here she is all loaded up with my stuff.

I learned a lot about mules on this ride. We spent about 12 hours with them over two days.

Mules are always the offspring of a donkey father and a horse mother. They are different from horses in many interesting ways. They have larger ears and smaller feet. They are strong, sure footed, calm, observant, smart, thoughtful and not easily spooked. All things you want in your mount under these extreme conditions.  The guest and pack mule trains travel into the canyon 365 days a year, in snow, sleet, rain, hail, and sweltering heat.  They are stopped only by rock slides that block the trail. Everything for Phantom Ranch that goes down or comes up does so on the back of a mule.

A pack team going down

These mules know every inch of the trail by heart and notice everything. 

They follow one another and need almost no direction - just a little motivating now and then. Like everyone, they'd rather take it easy, take a drink, a nibble or a pee occasionally when the opportunity arises.  But Pauline gave me absolutely no trouble at any time.  I have to say I felt more confident on the back of a mule than I would have on my own feet when we were on very narrow and precipitous trails.

People always want to know if it's a scary experience.  Being on top of a mule gives you a unique vantage point. When a mule makes a hairpin turn, his or her head sticks way out over the edge, giving you the feeling that you and the mule are just about to go head over heels down the canyon side. However, when their heads are sticking out over the edge, their feet (and the very substantial back 4/5th of their bodies, and yours) are still firmly on the trail. Once you understand and believe this, those hairpin turns are less frightening. But I'm not going to lie, those trails are narrow in some places, there is rarely anything resembling guard rails, and the mules sometimes like to walk very close to the edge. But as our most excellent guide Allison says, mules are seriously into self-preservation. They are not going to risk their lives. 

Allison, our guide

So, although the mules were the stars of the show, we were there to see the Canyon, and boy did we see the Canyon.  I would have taken about 100 times more pictures, (and would probably still be down there if I did) but photography is hard on the back of a moving mule.

Most photos were taken during rest stops, either on or off a resting mule. 

We took the Bright Angel Trail down, a trail dating back to the ancient people who visited or lived in the Canyon. Our first real rest stop was Indian Garden, an oasis along the way with composting toilets and water to refill our bottles and to hose ourselves off from head to foot.  Staying hydrated and cool is a big deal in the Canyon. Getting off the mules was a blessing for our legs as well. Going down is surprisingly hard work in the saddle. 

Indian Garden

With our first view of the Colorado we spotted a group of rafters. (They were much further away than this zoomed-in photo suggests.) This first raft was the scout, carrying much of the rafters' supplies. He's checking out this rock, as the water level around it helps him decide future routes through the upcoming rapids.  We saw five other rafts follow him down the river, with more supplies and groups of 2-3 passengers each.

Once at the bottom, we rode the cliff edge above the Colorado on the narrow River Trail for about a mile. There are only two bridges crossing the Canyon in this area: the Silver and the Black Bridges.(The Navajo Bridge crosses Marble Canyon at Lees Ferry.) The Silver Bridge is for hikers only. We went over the Black Bridge, passing through tunnels before and after. 

The Silver and Black suspension bridges

Once on the north shore of the river we entered the heavily vegetated Bright Angel Canyon and approached Phantom Ranch, the only lodging in the Grand Canyon. It took us about six hours to travel the 9.3 miles from the South Rim.

The cabins 

Phantom Ranch has about 15 cabins of different sizes, a bath house and a canteen. All are very basic accommodations, but completely sufficient. Mule riders, hikers and rafters must make reservations months ahead of time, unless like me, they get lucky a few days ahead. There is no room for walk-ins. The Bright Angel Campground is also an option for hikers and rafters.

The bath house

The Canteen

Where our steaks were cooked

Bright Angel Campground

I was tired and very wobbly when I slipped off my mule and stumbled to my cabin.  But after a short nap I was ready to explore. The North Kaibab Trail starts at Phantom Ranch and follows the Bright Angel Creek all the way to the North Rim. I followed it far enough to find a nice place to walk into the creek and soak off the dust and the heat. It was in the 90s down there and dry as could be. The water was just what I needed.

Bright Angel Creek, looking back at the South Rim

A very pleasant family style steak dinner was served at 5:30 and 7:00. After my 5:30 seating I had enough time to explore a little further up the N. Kaibab Trail as the sun set.  

Snapdragon vine in Bright Angel Canyon

Veins of granite and schist in Bright Angel Canyon

View from Phantom Ranch to South Rim at sunset

Next morning, after a bright and early 7:00 hearty breakfast we saddled up and headed out on the 14 mile South Kaibab Trail back to the South Rim. I had a very important role to play today. Pauline and I carried the US Mail out of the Canyon! Just like the pony express!

Two saddle bags with the US Mail, plus my souvenir water bottle

The ride up is very different from the ride down. First of all, the mules have to work a lot harder, so we stop and rest more often. Sitting in the saddle is very different too. Going down, you have to lean back. Going up, you have to lean forward. Mules, or at least my mule, was not a smooth walker. That meant a lot of active adjusting with my back and core muscles to stay in the saddle, but it felt easier on my legs. 

The S. Kaibab Trail is a newer trail than the Bright Angel, being built to bring materials down into the Canyon for the bridges and the water pipe. Oh, here's an interesting fact. All the water for Phantom Ranch and for all the development on the South Rim, comes from Roaring Spring on the North Rim! Yes. That means it flows all the way down the north side and is pumped up the south side. Seems impossible, but its true.

I'll try to give you a sense of the trail in relation to the surrounding canyon in the next few photos. In  most of them you can see the distinction between the upper Canyon, which is all sedimentary layers, and the lower Canyon, which is metamorphic, very irregular and much harder. The dividing line is the pale green gently sloping area called the Tonto Plateau. Although in these pictures we're looking back at the North Rim, the same geological structure is present on the South Rim.

See the little ribbon along the bottom of the photo? That's the flattest section of the S. Kaibab Trail

These switchbacks are called the Red and Whites I think

When we reached the end, we each received one of these funny certificates to commemorate our accomplishment. I am now a Master Mule Skinner Cowgirl! 

 This was kind of a long post, but it was kind of a long ride. Thanks for riding along. Talk about adventure. This was the best so far. Now I want to do more. Rocky Mountains here we come! 

Happy Trails Everybody!