Navajo Nation

If you like being outdoors in beautiful places, meeting new people and learning about different cultures this trip is for you. The canyon is a palette of bold colors; the vivid red of sandstone cliffs which range up to 1,000’, contrast with the brilliant blue of the sky. In the spring the tender green of the cottonwood trees make it a 3-part harmony. In the fall they turn to glimmering gold. If your life has become drab and dull this is a place to refresh your spirit and senses.

The canyon walls cradle ancient Anazasi petroglyphs and ruins as well as more recent Navajo rock art. The guides are well versed in contemporary thought on the Anazasi culture and point out many sights that newcomers often pass by without noticing.

If asked ‘in the right way’ the guides may give you some insight into traditional and current Navajo life. The society is complex and fascinating and the people are quiet and refined. Anyone interested in diverse cultures will find a treasure in the Navajo Nation.

Quick Tips:

A good way to begin your acquaintance with the place and the people is at the Visitors Center. There is a small museum and a short video to get you started. A nice gift shop and usually a local artist provide shopping opportunities. But don’t spend all your money there! In the canyon you can buy jewelry, pottery and occasionally Navajo rugs, directly from the artists at White House or Antelope House Ruins.

There are 3 hotels in town but I suggest spending as much time as possible in the canyon. Overnight camping can be arranged at the Visitors Center or the stables. As you relax into the canyon perhaps you will begin to appreciate the Navajo worldview of “beauty all around”. When you re-emerge from the canyon don’t forget to cruise along the North and South Rim Overlook Drives. Especially recommended is Spider Rock, the last overlook on the South Rim.

Chinle is 4 hours from Albuquerque and 6 hours from Phoenix so it is a good idea to plan for a day of travel on either end of your visit to the canyon if you are flying in

Best Way To Get Around:

I recommend seeing the canyon on horseback but you can also arrange for a guide at the Visitors Center and hike in. (Ask for Carl Begay and tell him Joanne sent you!) Or join a tour out of the Thunderbird Lodge or Holiday Inn on one of their large transport vehicles. If you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle you can hire a guide and drive in your own car.

A Navajo guide must accompany all visitors to the canyon. The one exception is the White House Trail (about 2.5 miles roundtrip) which guests may hike unattended. This is because the canyonland is still farmed by Navajo families and you will be crossing private land and homes.

To arrange overnight camping contact: The Visitors Center 520-674-5500, Justin Tso Stables 520-674-5678, Totsonii Ranch 520-755-6029, or join us on our next ride! Joanne 978-352-8674 or email blazn@msn.com

There are only 3 hotels in town. The Thunderbird Lodge is the most charming place to rent a room. Originally, it was a trading post and has evolved over the years. They have an extensive gift shop and a cafeteria-style restaurant. Exquisite Navajo rugs (for sale) grace the walls of the restaurant. Rooms are expensive here - in season a double is just over $100. 800-679-2473.

The Holiday Inn has just as nice rooms and a plentiful gift shop and the most elegant restaurant for just under $100. 520-674-5000 or 800-holiday. The Best Western runs about the same price as the Thunderbird, has a small gift shop and a family-style restaurant and has an indoor heated swimming pool. 520-674-5875 or 800-327-0354.

These hotels fill up during the tourist season so it''s best to make reservations. The Thunderbird and Holiday Inn have 24 hour cancellation policies and they will charge you for the room if they don''t re-rent it. Check with Best Western regarding their cancellation policy.

Camping at Cottonwood Campground is way less than $50 a room - it is FREE. It is maintained by the National Park Service. There are 96 sites. It is first-come first-serve, no reservations required. There are tent and RV sites. Restrooms are available but there are no showers. There is a dump station but no electrical hook-ups for the RVs.

Easy to find, it is on the right, just before the Thundrebird Lodge. You can walk to the Lodge to eat, shop or arrange a tour of the canyon.

Campers who would like a shower can rent one ($3) at the local Chapter House just down the road on Rt. 7. Each town has a Chapter House, they are community-based organiztions, offering services to the people.

Another option is SpiderRock Campground. It is located on the South Rim drive on the way to Spider Rock Overlook. It is privately owned and operated by a local fellow, Howard. He is delightful and has created a homey atmosphere for visitors. RV''s and tents allowed. I don''t think there are any hook-ups or dumping. The restrooms are portable toilets.

Rates are around $10 a night and a few dollars more if you want to use the enclosed but outdoor, solar shower. Very refreshing! Howard also maintains a small trailer as a community room for his guests to relax and mingle.

Other than the hotel restaurants your dining experience in Chinle will be the same fast food joints that you see everywhere. Burger King, A & W, Church's Fried Chicken and Taco Bell are the selections.

There is a take-out deli at the supermarket, Basha's, on Rt. 191. You can get a rotisserie or fried chicken with a good choice of sides. They have breakfast burritos, bacon, sausage etc.

One place sells traditional Navajo food including mutton stew and Navajo Tacos, but it is little more than a plywood shack and hard to find. It looked like they were remodeling last time I was there so it may be easier to find now.

I'm serious folks - this is all there is to choose from in Chinle. Vegetarians might want to pack a lunch.

About 35 miles south of Chinle is the town of Ganado where you can visit the Hubbell Trading Post, a National Historic Site. John Lorenzo Hubbell established the trading post in the 1870’s. It has been an active part of the Navajo Community ever since. They ‘trade’ everything from penny candy to saddles. It is a good place to examine Navajo rugs. You can tour the original house. A small visitors center often features local Navajo women weaving.

It was a small group that gathered for the October ride and we had all been riding in the canyon many times. We had been joking about riding from Chinle, AZ to Shiprock, NM where the Navajo Nation Fair was under way. Many of Justin’s (the stable owner) family would be at the fair and/or at the horseracing in Fruitland, NM and we didn’t want to miss out on seeing them again. As the crow flies, this is a distance of about 45 miles but we would be crossing the rugged Chuska Mountains and ground travel adds many more miles. I was quite pleased and surprised when Justin looked at me thoughtfully and said, “Yes, you can do that.”

When we met the next morning for breakfast and directions, Evelyn, Justin’s wife greeted us and then sent me a look full of questions. “Evelyn doesn’t think it’s a good idea,” joked Justin. “I didn’t say that!” she shot back. It turns out she was wondering how we would feed ourselves as Evelyn, the camp cook would not be able to meet up with us so far out. I assured her that we could try and cook for ourselves and we could probably manage steak and potatoes. Her look said, “we’ll see” but she agreed to send Patrick out to rendezvous with us with the food and stove.

At the stable we loaded up the horses and drove over to Tsaile, northeast of Chinle. As we were unloading the horses I heard Eddie, our guide, giving directions to Patrick as to how he would find us in the wilderness we were about to ride through. I hoped the others didn’t notice as they went over it several times.

“Don’t get lost!” Patrick yelled as he pulled out to head back to Chinle with the empty horse trailer.

We rode up into the mountains on a wide dirt road. It was beautiful. The aspens, on their bright white trunks were topped with their fall display of brilliant yellow. They were ribboned throughout the backdrop of the evergreens. Ponderosa pines towered overhead and a hawk escorted us for a while. Occasionally, we would come upon a homestead nestled in a sheltered spot. Eddie’s horse, One Socks, would always alert us to nearby deer with a focused look and pointed ears.

Every now and then a car or a pickup truck would come by, someone taking the ‘shortcut’ to the fair or a family gathering wood for winter fuel. Then we heard a pitiful screech of a vehicle being pressed beyond its limits. Eventually a little hatchback car, filled with Navajo faces came crawling up the road and passed us with much cheering and waving on both sides. The car was bellowing smoke and backfiring and once in a while someone would hop out and help push it up the incline. A short while later we came upon them again, stalled by the side of the road. “Get a horse!” we called as we trotted by. Miraculously they got it moving and passed us once again only to bog down. A slender young man got out of the car and grabbed a rock to place under the wheel of the car. He daintily dusted his hands and tugged at his top to neatly arrange himself while the car geared up for another effort. It wasn’t a man; it was a woman! Before we could get close enough to know for sure, he/she was signaled back into the car and they continued on their way. “Was that a man or a woman, Eddie?” I asked. “I couldn’t tell ya,” he answered with a shrug.

We traveled on and at several places the road forked. Eddie had told Patrick to keep taking lefts but it seemed that we needed to take a forgotten right. We piled rocks and scratched arrows into the dirt pointing to the new direction and hoped Patrick would see it.

By late afternoon we arrived at the place designated to be our campsite. We were on the flat top of the mountain near some old branding corrals. We found water for the horses, a necessity. The wind was picking up and we all set out to find firewood, a luxury. We had a good amount piled up and a fire going when Patrick arrived with the pickup. We asked him if he had see the markers we had left for him on the road. He said that initially he hadn’t noticed them because he was following our tracks easily until a small herd of wild horses had followed us for a while and obliterated the trail. When he backtracked he saw the markers and found his way. He also told us that we had covered 22 miles. Not bad. We had to travel more than 30 the next day.

We rode steady the next day. We encountered hail and then an intense thunder & lightning display but fortunately little rain. After the storm we rode right under a double-ended rainbow!

The last part of the day was hard. The rock formation known as Shiprock was coming in and out of view, like a dream destination, as we cut across country. Then we rode along a paved road for an eternity. It was wide-open country and the wind was relentless. As we pressed on a tiny speck in the distance became Patrick and the truck.

He had parked in front of a tiny rise in the land. It was the only thing slightly resembling a wind block. As the horses were unsaddled, the saddles were leaned up against the truck creating a bit more shelter from the wind. I couldn’t believe that this was our campsite after a long, hard ride. “Justin wouldn’t leave us here! He must be coming to get us,” I stated. “Nope, don’t count on it,” came the stoic reply. Knowing that the Navajo delight in practical jokes I refused to set up my tent and sat in the cab of the truck wrapped in my sleeping bag. But when they pulled out the stove and started to cook dinner I thought ‘this is no joke’. Setting my resolve to getting through the night, I ate dinner and set up my tent. About 10 minutes after that, Justin and Evelyn pulled up in the van and we rushed over to them ignoring the laughter from Eddie and Patrick. Evelyn had bowls of mutton stew and fry bread and asked, “What are you doing here? Why don’t you come camp with us tonight over in Fruitland.” You never saw a van get loaded so fast in your life!

So after our 55-mile journey we spent a warm night in the camper playing cards with the kids, well sheltered from the downpour that finally arrived later that night.