In 2012 I did a road trip to Canyon de Chelly with my friends Rob and Barbara. All of the American West pretty much has to be seen to believed but the Southwest is almost otherworldly.
You drive over the high desert and suddenly this chasm opens up, with pinnacles and monuments and spires somehow surviving millennia of erosion just to wow you now.
The first people here have left their mark everywhere. I wonder if sometimes, maybe at sunrise or sunset, they just stood looking and marveling at the beautiful place in which they lived. I bet they did.
We hired a local guide to take us into the canyon itself, where again is the evidence of the people before us, where they lived their lives and in the walls above buried their dead.
Leashes on both would be my plan. That’s a long way down.
The national parks are the best thing we’ve ever done as a nation. I am beyond annoyed at the firings of Park employees by the current administration.
And looky here, the Smithsonian magazine just did a piece on Canyon de Chelly.
Chatter Random Saturday Canyon de Chelly national park service national parks
3 Comments Leave a comment ›
You hiked! Thank you for the lovely photos.
And survived. And you’re welcome!
I’ve driven by Canyon du Chelly many times on our way to the San Juan River and points north. I’ve never had the chance to actually go into it. Have you been to Chaco Canyon? It’s really impressive. And I agree with you on the Parks. People don’t realize how fragile they can be.
On a lighter note, we were once driving through Tuba City, and I saw a sign that said, “Ya-tah-Hay for sale.” Love the Diné sense of humor.