Canyon de Chelly: A wonderful culture within our own borders

[Scott Brady]

I have just returned from a great trip with my dad and a few other EarthRoamer owners, visiting Canyon de Chelly in the Navajo Nation.

I am still working on the images, but here is one to kick this thread off.

You can see why the Spanish traders loved the Navajo Asdzání (woman). She was beautiful and loved her Navajo heritage. There were two sisters that provided a traditional Navajo dance demonstration for the group - most memorable.

We camped that night under Spider Rock, the worlds tallest free-standing spire.

More soon.

 

[1leglance]

very cool....
great to hear you had a good time & good weather with your pop's

 

[93BLAZER]

Great photos... cant wait to see the rest!

What were you shooting with?

 

[Cabrito]

Awesome!

This place is totally on my list of places to get to one of these days.

can't wait for more.

 

[luk4mud]

Went down there just for the day a couple of years ago. It is a trylu magical place. Our Navajo guide pointed out a petroglyph of a deer running into a side canyon, followed by an Indian on horseback followed by a conquistadore!

 

[Lichen]

I was going to post and suggest that you may want to eliminate that one word, but I see that you have already done it. I work on a Reservation, and although the men don't mind it, the women will kick your azz if you call them that.

 

[James86004]

We got to camp at the base of Spider Rock a few years back, courtesy of arrangements made by TeriAnn. Our guides were awesome, and we got to tour their nearby hogan. Spent two nights in the canyon. I didn't want to leave.

One of her pictures:

 

[F5driver]

How does the guide thing work. I'm going there with the family in two weeks. I'd like to camp in the canyon. Does the guide ride along in the jeep and camp with you too?

 

[scarysharkface]

I have just returned from a great trip with my dad and a few other EarthRoamer owners, visiting Canyon de Chelly in the Navajo Nation.

I am still working on the images, but here is one to kick this thread off.

You can see why the Spanish traders loved the Navajo Asdzání (woman). She was beautiful and loved her Navajo heritage. There were two sisters that provided a traditional Navajo dance demonstration for the group - most memorable.

We camped that night under Spider Rock, the worlds tallest free-standing spire.

More soon.

That's awesome. My wife spent time in Many Farms shooting a piece on a student teacher from the university where I work. She loved the people there as well as the countryside. In fact, her visit to the canyon was a large part of our motivation to take a vacation out West over the summer instead of the Canadian Maritimes. I can't wait to see your full report!

John

 

[photoman]

How does the guide thing work. I'm going there with the family in two weeks. I'd like to camp in the canyon. Does the guide ride along in the jeep and camp with you too?

There are many guides that can lead you into Canyon De Chelly and the most inexpensive way is to have one just ride with you. There will be an hourly charge, an overnight fee, and you will pay by the hour to be lead out the next day.

A few in canyon shots:

A navajo friend of mine

 

[Scott Brady]

Great photos... cant wait to see the rest!

What were you shooting with?

Olympus E3 with some fast Zuiko lenses.

 

[scarysharkface]

Olympus E3 with some fast Zuiko lenses.

Looks fantastic.

 

[Scott Brady]

The EarthRoamer, rolling through the Canyon. Overall, the terrain is easy, though the sand is deep in places. The route has just enough to keep it interesting, and would be perfect for a larger EarthRoamer, Sportsmobile, etc.

We had an exceptional pair of Navajo guides. Cynthia Hunter and her mom Sally. I used Cynthia back in 2003 to guide us through Canyon del Muerto.

Sally is 70 years young, and still does 10+ mile hiking tours.

The canyon is filled with pictographs and petroglyphs spanning thousands of years of inhabitation.

We had a flute player for our stop at Antelope House. There was this great story of Senator McCain's visit to the canyon, where he camped at these ruins with Bill Richardson. Supposedly, they stayed up late into the night with a fire, drinking martinis (the Navajo Nation is a "dry" reservation). The Navajo in this discussion also spoke highly of McCain.

The flute player is Travis Terry

 

[Scott Brady]

Camping at the base of Spider Rock was an honor.

More of the medicine dance

The butterfly dance

A few more images:

Cynthia's grandson in a cradle board. The Navajo did not use a papoose. (Note: all images of people were with permission, minors were with permissions from an adult).

All of the images in this post (except the first) were shot with a 50-200mm Zuiko F2.8-3.5

 

[FourByLand]

Wow! For a moment there it felt like the old ExPo.

Wonderful photos and story, Scott. Thank you!