Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly ...that's pronounced "Canyon da Shay". The Navajo word for the gorge is "tseyi" ... meaning "in the rocks" so the name is a mixture of Spanish and Navajo.

3,500 years ago, perhaps more, the canyon was home to hundreds of people who farmed the valley floors while they lived high above, in pueblos tucked safely in shallow caves in the high canyon walls. This culture thrived so many years ago we can only make "educated guesses" about many aspects of life then, based on the ruins and other cultural artifacts we find. It is fascinating to stand on top of the canyon rim and peer down into the ruins and imagine what life was like for the the people who lived here then. We know from plant materials that have been found that the climate was much wetter then, so farming would have been easier than it is now, and game probably more plentiful.

This archeological treasure is in the center of the Navajo Nation. Navajo farmers and ranchers now have more conventional homes on the valley floor, where they raise sheep, cattle, horses, and various crops to feed their families. Some old families own the rights to land in the canyon, but live in town, and come out to their ranches to work them as needed.

This canyon is also a geologic wonder. Brilliant red sandstone cliffs have been deeply eroded into fascinating shapes, and contrast beautifully with the green of the juniper trees. By afternoon each day there are usually puffy white thunderheads building on the horizon, and with the addition of a few stray wildflowers and blooming cactus here and there you just can't paint a prettier picture.

Visitors can no longer go into the valley floor without a guide, as I did with my family 40 years ago, which is understandable seeing how many residences are there. We stayed on the rim, looking down, admiring the depth and beauty of the canyon, the ruins in the cliffs, the rock art on the canyon walls, and the fluffy clouds overhead. What a wonderful experience.

Our touring was divided into day one, the visitor's center, day two, the south side of the canyon, and day three, the north side of the canyon. The visitor's center was a bit disappointing as far as the information/displays it offered, but we fortunately have other resources, so at least we knew what we were looking at.

Every lookout or parking area is populated with several vendors, anxious to sell their jewelry, pottery or paintings. The economics of the reservation have improved over the years, but most are still needing to make that extra dollar to supplement whatever their regular income is. We chatted with several of the vendors and found them very friendly, informative, and not at all pushy about selling their wares.

Day one - The south rim tour includes Spider Rock, where Spider Woman gave birth to the twelve gods. It was Spider Woman who taught the Navajo how to weave.

In any of the photos, look closely for the details like roads through the bottom of the canyon. These will give you a better sense of how deep and wide the canyon is.

There are several places where visitors can walk to the edge of the canyon and look down on the ranches below. At one of the stops while admiring the canyon below we noticed odd, bare circles in the green areas. It made the area look a little like moon craters.

The park ranger who was talking with visitors there explained they were caused by ant hills. We had already noticed a lot of ants in our campsite, but wow! These are huge! Compare them to the road cutting across the top, left corner of the photo.

While viewing the canyon with a group of other visitors we observed a major breech of travel etiquette that I can't help but comment on. Please, fellow travelers, don't go into Navaho Land and lecture a young ranger on how the Navajo should run things, just because you saw something done on a tour of Laos. This isn't Laos. The Navajo know what they are doing. They are successful capitalists, 'have been for generations, and will figure out for themselves what suits their culture!

Day two - The south rim tour includes Mummy Cave, in Canyon del Muerto.

The alcoves making up this site take their name from two mummified bodies, found still wrapped in yucca plant fiber, by an archeological expedition in 1882.

Antelope House is another stop on the south rim. It is so named because of the many antelope drawings on the canyon wall near the ruins. The paintings are just above the dark streak on the canyon wall to the left of the ruins.

 We were thankful we'd brought the binoculars to this site, as with the naked eye we would never have known where to look for the paintings.

As it is our zoom lenses weren't as adequate as we would have liked. You'll need to look at the photo of the paintings in full screen in order to seen them.

On the fourth day we went in to the closest town, Chinle [Chin (as in where your beard grows)-lee ] It's not a large town, but there was a pretty good grocery store, and we had good enough "connections"  to pick up email, and then we went for lunch at a local restaurant. We'd asked a couple of locals for recommendations and let that guide us. here are only a couple of restaurants in town and we heard the "locals" ate at the Best Western restaurant. It was full of locals, no question about that! TA Navajo taco and what amounted to a shredded beef sandwich on fry bread were our choices. We were a bit disappointed at the lack of any type of spices, but then, we are used to Texas cooking!

We spent all four days at the only campground in the area, Cottonwood, which is operated by the Navajo Nation Park Service. Nicely shaded with cottonwood trees, it was comfortable enough. There's no water or electric service, but the restrooms do have running water. 

Our only complaint... well, it was really Shiner's complaint, is that the sandy ground is full of goat-head burrs, and her poor feet suffered frequent stabs as she investigated on her daily walks.


Next stop, Hopi Land and Tuba City.