We are deep into Indian territory. The Navajo tribe seem to be dominant although road signs point to an Apache ‘County’ to our left. All is quiet and there are no signs of any tribal rebellion between them. The Hopi are a spiritual bunch and we look forward to seeing their ‘Spider Rock’, a freestanding spire, in the Canyon later. The visitor centre at the Canyon de Chelly is less than half a mile from our hotel. We are advised to drive the South Rim Road of around 16 miles. There are regular ‘overlooks’ where we park and explore and wonder at the magnificent views deep into the Canyon. The rock strata are a geologists dream. Multi coloured layers remind me of the days spent collecting coloured sands at Alum Bay near the Needles on the Isle of Wight back home. The drop into the Canyon is only 30 feet at the start and gets higher as we progress reaching over 1000 feet. Some of the overlooks are guarded by safety barriers but many are not and allow you to explore the rim edge. Very scary, but so stimulating as we hang over the precipice to get the best photos. Once again there is no sign of wildlife, just one solitary red tailed hawk shrieking its call overhead and echoing through the valley. The only people we see are the native Navajo Indians trying to sell their wares in the car parks. The sun suddenly emerges from behind the rain clouds as we get our first glimpse of Spider Rock, a huge pair of fingers rising from the valley floor to 800 feet. Dedicated by Indian folk lore to the ‘old lady’ who used to weave. We feel her presence as she lifts the chilly temperature from 52*F to 68*F by the time we get to the Utah border many miles north.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 14:30:56 +0000
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