Into the Navajo Nation

After the big hike it was nice to take it easy the morning after. After sleeping out I parked up at the General store (which provides wifi) and set up office. Amongst other to set up the previous post and select the pictures you've seen.

At noon it was time to head for monument valley which starts with a scenic drive along the South Rim of Grand Canyon. This allowed for the first glimpse of the Colorado river.

Immediately after turning away from the Grand Canyon the landscape started to change. I was nearing the borders of the Navajo Nation. In the morning I had been reading up on it, because roadside camping without a permit is considered trespassing without a permit. Furthermore the Navajo Nation does observe daylights saving time, while the rest of Arizona does not (so I had to put the clock one hour forward). The visitor center at the entrance of the reservation was supposed to be open until 17:00, but at 16:00 it was closed and the Navajo at the fuel station next door couldn't tell me anything about permits. Grrr.

While reading up on the Navajo nation I learned about some attractions along the route to Monument valley: dinosaur tracks near the entrance of the reservation and a Navajo (and codetalker) museum near Tuba City. There's also an RV park / camping in Tuba City, so that's where I decided to head for and stay the night. With a week of buffer at the end of the schedule I had ample time to add some extra stays to the schedule.

The dinosaur tracks were pretty interesting. There was a parking lot next to the road and Navajo showing you around the field, with Dinosaur tracks everywhere. Some impressions:

Petrified dinosaur poo

Check out Picasa for more. Crazy to think that you walk in million year old tracks there, just in the middle of the desert. There was a boy selling fossils as well (claws, teeth). Tuba city was just down the road, so I set up camp there. The site was rather crappy, but the price was good, and since there were no other options...

While cooking steak a stray dog turned up. Luckily he was afraid of me, so I could keep him at a distance. Since he kept away as I told him to I did give him some bread after my dinner was finished. When he discovered there was no food left he quickly went away to find some other source of food.

The next day I checked out at the campsite, and walked to the Navajo museum which was next door. There I learned about the history of the Navajo people, and the cruel, bloody and unjust way the white man has treated them to get rid of this nuisance that kept them from the land's minerals. The museum also featured a film on the creation story of the Navajo. It is interesting to see that this story also features a time of great floods.

A baby cradle and all the associated symbolism

After starving the Navajo by killing their cattle, torching their maize and poisoning wells, the remaining starving people were marched at gunpoint for 500 kilometers to remote fort, stragglers were killed or left to die. At the fort the people were supposed to be fed and start a new life, but the caretakers sold the food for their own profit and gave the Navajo rotting food and foods which they did not know how to prepare. It is a miracle there is still Navajo surviving today.

Next door was a museum on the Navajo codetalkers during the second world war. I found the contrast striking: a few hundred years later there were Navajo willing to risk their lives serving the United States, after how they had been treated. 

After this gloomy start of the day I was happy to hit the roads again, and enjoy the beautiful views the Navajo Nation has to offer. 

Youtube: http://youtu.be/p9Feo7g3dtQ

Monument valley was supposed to be just a turn around point, but after pulling out of it I picked up a hitchhiker: Tyler Goodman. He's a Navajo from St George and was heading towards the west end of the reservation, where I was also going. After talking with him for a little while it became clear that he was heading for Salt Lake City on a pretty loose schedule, just as me. Since he's a local he knows a lot of the places so it was a good idea to join our travels up for a little while.

First stop was Page, a city near Lake Powell, just on the edge of the Reservation, where Tyler has some friends where we could stay. These friends were Byron and Cindy, and their children Nicholas and Eva. We had a good time with them immediately: we ate pizza, visited a nice rock with beautiful views nearby, had a few beers, and learned about some other destination in the area from them. We also learned that next day would be Cindy's birthday, so of course we would have to stay and celebrate that! More about that and the rest our adventures in the next post!

Tyler, Byron and Cindy on a trek to a local eroded rock (and natural auditorium)

Day 16: Grand Canyon to Tuba City

Day 17: Navajo Nation