Day 5: June 17, 2011

12:00 pm

Driving to Silverton CO from Durango

57 degrees!

Writing on June 18, 2011

We survived “The Nightmare in Monument Valley”! We got the last room at The View Hotel normally reserved for the owner of the hotel or truckers. The owner does not live in luxury when he stays at the hotel, but it was fine accommodations to hide away from the awful near-miss outside. We had no “view”, but the rest of the hotel rooms sure did—and the hotel definitely lives up to its name. At breakfast, we sat outside on a balcony overlooking the Monuments of Monument Valley. Apparently, this was John Wayne’s favorite spot to enjoy the sights in the old west. I like anything that’s “Duke” approved :)

As beautiful as it was, it felt great to leave Monument Valley and head to Chinle and the Canyon de Chelly. We had arranged a Jeep tour to take us into the Canyon—it really was the best way to see the sights. At certain times of the year, there is a river flowing through the Canyon, but now it was just a wide expanse of sand and dust, flanked by little ranches, trees, and of course, the huge vertical cliffs that make up the Canyon.

We were still in Navajo country and our tour was led by a serious, authentic Dine (pronounced “Deen-eh”—this is what the Navajo call their tribe). James, the Dine, was the perfect tour guide. He took us in “Little Red”, a 1980 open Jeep into the huge gorge. James began to tell us all about Dine culture—he taught us as much about ancient traditions as he did modern ones; it was encouraging and really cool to hear how the Navajo keep their way of life thriving. He primarily speaks his native tongue, as do most other Navajo in the area. He crafts his own traditional regalia and dances professionally in his costumes. He teaches about wildlife conservancy. He doctors and trains his own racehorses. He is a professional nature photographer and tour guide. For a living, he is construction worker and welder.

He was pretty much awesome. For me, one of the most special parts of the day was hearing him describe his people’s connection to ancient spirits and to the earth. They do recognize archaeological evidence that traces their roots back to beyond the ice bridge at the Bering Straight, but they also fully know and believe that they came from the earth—the “Mother”. He says that’s why their skin is the color of the earth. When I heard a roaring wind in my ear, he said it must have been the Anasazi spirits. We all know a bit about Native American culture and beliefs, but to here it straight from James was so cool.

The Jeep ride itself was crazy. Back to the Disneyland connection—it felt just like riding Indian Jones, except way wilder. We described it as a Navajo safari. Skidding on dry sand, gravel and rocks, I felt like we’d capsize the Jeep at any minute. But, James obviously knew what he was doing. He also knew, somehow, that we would be the perfect suckers to take into the vending sections of the canyon. All of a sudden, past incredible ancient ruins of the Anasazi (pre-Navajo) and the beauty of undisrupted nature, we spy a bunch of tents and tables with Navajo people selling their wares. We didn’t mind, though, and bought a ton of stuff J

All in all, even after getting stung by tiny grains of sand and with hair like a rat’s nest, it was probably the best thing we’ve done so far. See pics down below of pictographs (ancient mud drawings), petroglyphs (ancient carvings), ruins, Mustangs (horses, not cars) and a Navajo Taco (yum).