Canyon de Chelly National Monument

From the Hopi Reservation, we headed (with keys firmly in hand) to Canyon de Chelly in the surrounding, and much larger Navajo Nation. This vast canyon was the cultural center of the Navajo, and their famous last holdout as the Native tribes in the West were being cleared out for white settlers. Arriving in the afternoon, we drove along both the north and south rims, and hiked to the White House down in the canyon ... the only place in the canyon that you can visit without a Native guide. In the morning, we did a driving tour into the canyon with a guide for 4ish hours, and even then, didn't get very far into the canyon.

We again had an excellent Native guide (Reggie) who gave us lots of good insights into the history, culture and religious significance of some of the features. Interestingly, the many cliff dwellings located in the canyon were constructed by the Ancient Puebloans who occupied the canyon for several thousand years before leaving (for unknown reasons) in the 13th century. The Navajo arrived a few centuries later, and treated the ruins with reverence and some caution, since they viewed the Ancient Puebloans as their enemy.

We expected to spend more time exploring the scenery within the canyon, but ended up being totally happy with the more cultural approach. Plus, our guide played the flute, and hearing it echoing off the canyon walls was magical!