After almost six weeks in New Mexico, we continued our journey west into Arizona. Don and I have been here several times but we wanted to show our friends, Julie and Keith Antworth, some of our favorite places. We spent three nights in Canyon de Chelly National Monument. The monument is located entirely on Navajo land and there is a very nice RV park that was still no-charge when we were there. Unfortunately, signs were posted that there would be a charge for camping once the Navajo Nation and the National Park Service negotiated an agreement. Too bad as it was a great bargain with large, level, paved sites but no hookups. Our weather was excellent and we sat outside in the evenings, enjoying the sunset and Keith and Julie’s “campfire in a can”. 
After watching a film on Navajo history in the visitors’ center, we drove the rim roads stopping at the numerous overlooks. Archeological evidence shows that people lived in the canyons that make up the monument for nearly 5,000 years. Formerly called the Anasazi, a Navajo word meaning ancient ones, these early people are now referred to as Puebloans. These people built multi-storied villages, small compounds, and kivas with decorated walls in the canyon alcoves. At the mouth of the canyon, the walls are only 30 feet high but rise dramatically to over 1,000 feet above the floor farther in. The cliffs raise straight up, overshadowing streams, cottonwoods, and small farms below. Only the canyon rims are open to visitors with overlooks for the numerous cliff dwellings. The canyon floor is private property and can only be accessed with a Navajo guide except for the White House Trail, a 2.5 mile round-trip trail. It is a fairly strenuous hike, descending over 600 feet to the canyon floor to view the cliff dwellings and then, of course, climbing back up out of the canyon. 
One day we drove to Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation. A Veterans memorial has been established at the base of the graceful redstone arch for which the capitol is named. The memorial honors the many Navajos who served in the U.S. military, especially the Code Talkers, Native Americans who used the Navajo language to create a code that was never broken by the Japanese. The visitors’ center and museum was excellent with personal accounts, photos, and paintings of Navajo history.
Leaving Canyon de Chelly, we headed to Monument Valley. This is one of the most photographed places in the country, recognizable to many from the wonderful John Wayne movies that were filmed here, including “The Searchers”, “Cheyenne Autumn” and “Stagecoach”. It is not a national park or monument but belongs to the Navajo nation. This great valley boasts sandstone pinnacles that tower 400 to 1,000 feet above the desert floor surrounded by panoramic buttes and mesas. The red and gold sandstone colors change as the sun, clouds and shadows move across the desert floor. And at most stops along the way, Navajo vendors sell jewelry, pottery, rugs, and paintings. We drove, or rather bounced and rattled our way around the 17 mile scenic drive, grateful for the high clearance of our Jeep. Spectacular scenery! We dry-camped that evening on a mesa overlooking the valley. The setting sun painted all the rocks a brilliant red as long shadows crept across the valley floor. It was beautiful!
Our next stop was Navajo National Monument. We had a couple moments of concerns after we turned off the main highway, US 160, and encountered a sign saying RV access was limited to 26 feet. (I always love it when the signs are after we turn – by then it is too late!) But we thought we remembered a large turn-around at the top, and fortunately we were right. The RV access was referring to campsites, but even then we found out there were a couple that could have accommodated us. But we were only there for a couple hours. The Navajo National Monument includes three cliff dwelling ruins which can be visited only by hiking deep into the canyons. We enjoyed a very nice paved trail along the mesa top that led to an overlook with a spectacular cross-canyon view of the Betatakin ruins but we passed on the 17 mile round trip hike to the Keet-Seel ruins. These ruins were built by the Hisatsinom, ancestors of the Hopi. The Betatakin dwellings were occupies between 1250 and 1300 A.D. Keet Seel dwellings have been dated back to 950 A.D.
Then on to the Grand Canyon. Although this was our third visit, we were awed by the inspiring and immense landscapes. The canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and a mile deep, with rock nearly 2 billion years old at the bottom of the canyon. Our weather was perfect, with warm sunny days and comfortable evenings. We stayed at the Mather RV park with full hook-ups and enjoyed watching the many elk as they wandered through. I hiked several miles along the rim trail then met Don, Julie, and Keith for lunch at the historic El Tovar Hotel. We then jumped on the shuttle bus and visited the numerous viewpoints along Hermit Road. We drove into Tusayan and watched the I-Max film of rafting down the river. What an adventure that would be - I think I’d like to try it one day. We had hoped to visit the north rim of the canyon but decided to pass on it for this trip. Maybe next time.
P.S. We turned 100,000 miles in our RV on October 29th! Wonder what adventures we will have before we turn 200,000 miles!!
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