Canyon de Chelly National Monument

On my trip down to Phoenix I camped the second night at Canyon de Chelly National Monument. I arrived about 4:30 P.M., coming in from the northeast on 64, driving through the Navajo Nation. I stopped at a couple of the overlooks on the North Rim then headed to Cottonwood Campground and find a campsite. Not many people in the campground so I had my pick of sites. 🙂 I then headed to the South Rim and checked out some of the overlooks. It is such a beautiful place to experience. The views are spectacular and oh, the quiet.

The monument was authorized in 1931 to preserve the important archaeological resources that span more than 4,000 years of human occupation. The monument is approximately 84,000 acres of lands located entirely on the Navajo Nation with roughly 40 families residing within the park boundaries. The National Park Service and the Navajo Nation share resources.

The Ancient Puebloans found the canyons an ideal place to plant crops and raise families. The first settlers built pit houses that were then replaced with more sophisticated homes as more families migrated to the area. More homes were built in alcoves to take advantage of the sunlight and natural protection. People thrived until the mid-1300’s when the Puebloans left the canyons to seek better farmlands.

Next, the Hopi migrated into the canyons to plant fields of corn and orchards of peaches. Although the Hopi left this area to permanently settle on the mesa tops to the west, the Hopi still hold on to many of their traditions that are evident from their homes and kivas.

The Navajo settled here next. The Navajo, or Dine’ as they call themselves, continue to raise families and plant crops just as the “Ancient Ones” had. The farms, livestock and hogans of the Dine’ are visible from the canyon rims. You can look down on small homes and large gardens or small farms. One Indian selling some beautiful paintings in the parking lot told me they have bears that come in an rummage through his garden for corn.

I took my sister an brother-in-law to the airport yesterday for their trip to Europe. They were two very excited kids. I think the will have fun and hopefully come home exhausted. Now starts the sabbatical for me. I will be missing the changing colors back in Colorado and experiencing the 100 degree days.