Canyon de Chelly

We left Chaco Culture National Historic Park via the south exit on NM 57, a 21 mile dirt road which was in much worse shape than the dirt road to the north entrance. After slowly driving to Navajo 9 and finally US 191 to Chinle, the gateway to Canyon de Chelly, we reached the campground. The Navajo reservation is huge, covering portions of four states, and very sparsely populated. We had met a couple in both Monument Valley and Bloomfield, NM who had visited Canyon de Chelly who said that there was a lot of crime and that they felt watched and uncomfortable in Canyon de Chelly. Bob was a bit nervous about this. On the way Bob called to arrange a tour into the canyon bottom. We arrived at Cottonwood Campground, true to its name as can be seen in this photo. There were quite a few people there in this free campground, including a young couple who were making out furiously for several hours. There were also signs warning not to leave valuables unattended and prohibiting the possession or consumption of alcohol.


The next morning we got up and failed to realize that the clocks had changed, so we were an hour early for our tour. We decided to drive on the South Rim drive. Canyon de Chelly opens out into Chinle, so it is surprising to come on this deep canyon so close to the city. We stopped at a scenic overlook and met this young man, Antonio, who was selling his rock paintings. He offered to explain the pictographs (and obviously wanted to sell them). He told us that the word Navajo means head chopped off (reflecting what the Spaniards did) and that his grandmother considered it an insult to be called a Navajo; she prefers the word Dene. He was really engaging and though it may not be high art, it was interesting and we purchased two small paintings. He's a single dad caring for two children and was raised by his grandmother in White House Chapter (a ruin on the canyon floor). He was covered with tatoos, perhaps indicating gang membership.











We continued on along the canyon rim, looking down at the yellow cottonwoods/poplars and the fields and the red walls. Canyon de Chelly probably comes from the Spaniards inability to replicate Tsegi, the Navajo word. We returned to the hotel to meet our guide.