Off the Reservation

K: After the Grand Canyon, the route was through NE Arizona with our ultimate destination being Santa Fe. The route took us through the Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations. The vastness of the Reservation land is amazing. The Navajos still seem to each have a Hogan on their properties which is the traditional six-sided dwelling now used for ceremonial purposes.

Camping was at Canyon de Chelly National Monument. This is the first campsite that was not like the others... . It was free so there were a number of campers that, well, weren't camping. Sleeping in their cars was more like it. My assumption is that they were homeless and sleeping at a nice campsite with a bathroom facililty was better than the alternative. There are a lot of really poor people in this country.

Canyon de Chelly (pronounced 'Shay') is on the Navajo Reservation and preserves the ruins of the indigenous tribes that lived in adobe dwellings along the cliffs.

V: The Grand Canyon is, as any who have visited it know, so inspiring. My mind went to the early explorers such as the Powell Expeditions, which navigated the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1869 and 1872, I believe, in rather primitive five-man rowboats. Amazingly intrepid feats those folks accomplished in the days of exploring and settling the American West.

We weren't going to make it to the Native cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park in CO, so the smaller ruins at Canyon de Chelly were worth seeing. A free campsite does seem to attract quite a few interesting folks sleeping in their cars, and, yes, grilled spam with a wonderful mole sauce is so yummy.

To note K's comment on some of the poverty we have seen on this journey: yes, life on Reservation Land can be challenging, and yet it is worth noting that the Navajo are very enterprising, never missing a chance to sell the silver jewelry and native-designed pottery at any place they can.

Looking forward to Santa Fe, a place I've never visited.

Highlights:

Bites: Grilled spam and pasilla peppers with mole sauce, black beans and rice.

Sights: Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Navajo and Hopi Reservations