Northern Arizona Loop, September 6-11, 2005Torrential rains cut short our visit to Hopi Country, and we retreated to Spider Rock Campground east of Chinle.
The campground has no electricity or running water, but it does include a traditional Navajo hogan.
For the next two days, this cozy, eight-sided, sweet-smelling earth and timber shelter provided a dry and comfortable place to sleep, read, write, and prepare meals.
According to legend, the first hogan was built by Coyote, who got logs and instructions from the Beaver People.
A few sticks of firewood provide a night of warmth, but first you must bargain with Coyote. In this case, the price was Dennis' collection of maps of California. All other paper refused to burn. This means Dennis is back home in Arizona to stay!
Morning provided our first good look at Canyon de Chelly, as gentle and green and beckoning as the Grand Canyon was stark and bare and foreboding.
The canyon has two long arms. Canyon del Muertos is the dry north arm, and Canyon de Chelly is the much longer and well-watered south arm.
At the head of the main canyon is Spider Rock, an 800-foot-high sandstone pillar. According to Navajo tradition, the top of Spider Rock is home to Spider Woman, who taught the Dine (Navajo) how to weave on a loom.
After investigating the cost of jeep tours (minimum $45 each for a half-day tour on a crowded flat-bed truck), and especially after gauging the girth of our potential fellow passengers, we opted to explore the canyon on foot.
Our first hike was from the overlook to White House Ruins, the only hike permitted without a Navajo guide. My guidebooks dismissed this as a fallback if you couldn't locate a guide for a longer hike, but we loved the White House Ruins trail! It didn't hurt that it was a rain-washed, crisp-and-clear 80-degree day.
The trail switchbacks 600 feet to the canyon floor, sometimes wrapping around ledges, sometimes passing through ancient downspouts. Time has sculpted the red sandstone into huge cinnamon swirls.
Giant cottonwoods cover the canyon floor, where the river was running high from recent storms. The White House ruin complex is one of dozens of cliff dwellings scattered throughout Canyon de Chelly. Built by Anasazi emigrating from Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon in the 12th century, they were abandoned in the 13th century and later occupied by Hopi and Navajo peoples.
Another treasure in the canyon bottom was a table of exquisite jewelry created by local silversmith Cecil Henry. Dennis made an early birthday present of this silver bracelet recounting the history of Canyon de Chelly, from Spider Woman to modern-day jeep tours.
The next day we were at the Visitor Center at 8:00, looking for a Navajo guide. Private guides charge $20/hour with a five-hour minimum, while Visitor Center guides are limited to $15/hour. One of these guides proposed a four-hour hike along "Bear Trail", which begins at a private residence near the round-cornered house and crosses the canyon to Ledge Ruins overlook. The descent to the canyon floor looked impossible, but ancient stone steps appeared below our feet as if by magic.
A traditional Navajo farm on the canyon floor. Plenty of water, rich soil, a comfortable home, big shade trees and perfect weather. Paradise, in other words!
The round-cornered house was one of many cliff dwellings -- not always on the map -- that our guide pointed out to us. Note the petroglyphs on both sides of the building.
Junction Ruins, at the intersection Canyon del Muertos and Canyon de Chelly.
We enjoyed this hike despite a serious disagreement on distance. We completed the hike in 4-1/2 hours, but only by half-jogging through deep sand with no time to drink, eat or pee.
Above: Dennis on the mud flat below the junction.
Below: It was time to point the Subaru south, but first I needed one more cup of coffee.
The only coffee shop in town is "Changing Woman Espresso," housed in a small trailer at a bend in the road just below the Visitor Center.
You can order any coffee drink you like, so long as it's mocha.
That's me with a cup and a dog named, of course, "Mocha."
We met my honorary brother Rob for dinner in Show Low. He was right about a dearth of places to stay south of Show Low.
We ended up at the very affordable ($26.95) El Rey Motel in Globe.
(Oh boy! More great neon!)
A certain fat cat was very, very glad to see us. Maybe if he sits on our luggage, we'll never, never leave him again!
