Chinle and Canyon de Chelly, AZ
A big highlight from our drive through the Navajo Nation was discovering Canyon de Chelly. The canyon is (of course) smaller than the Grand Canyon, but I found the views just as breathtaking. What's more, it's really peaceful. You look out over the red earth canyon and see a green valley below which remains a home to the Navajo canyon community. It's also an open grazing area, so it's possible to see horses grazing in the valley below. We also had the incredible fortune of parking at an overlook where renowned flautist, Travis Terry, was playing the Native American flute. We stopped for several minutes to look out at the canyon and listen to sounds that truly fill the soul. I'd like to go back and spend more time at Canyon de Chelly some day.
There were two other major highlights from the day:
1) The Navajo Nation has an open grazing policy, which means that horses (lots and lots of horses) roam free and can often be seen by the side of the road. When Andrew and I were in the small town of Chinle we saw a sight has me laughing every time I think of it. Two dogs, with no owner anywhere in sight, seemed to be herding a group of about ten horses down the road. The dogs seemed deliberate in how they were barking at the horses and getting them to stay together, and then a bit farther down the road the dogs made the horses cross over to the other side of the street. Cars came to a halt to wait for the horses to cross. I thought it was hilarious! I couldn't tell if the dogs had been given some kind of instructions like, "go get the horses and bring them home," or if they were just out on a joy-herding mission. Andrew managed to snap a shot of the commotion:
2) It turns out that Segui is an excellent "tracker." All these years I just haven't been paying attention. Andrew and I took Segui out for a stroll in the Canyon de Chelly area and watched -- on the way home -- as Segui retraced our steps exactly in order to get us back to camp. We came upon numerous points where there were choices to make as far as which way to go, and every time Segui chose the path that retraced our steps. I was so impressed! Now we know who to trust if we're trying to get home after dark:
There were two other major highlights from the day:
1) The Navajo Nation has an open grazing policy, which means that horses (lots and lots of horses) roam free and can often be seen by the side of the road. When Andrew and I were in the small town of Chinle we saw a sight has me laughing every time I think of it. Two dogs, with no owner anywhere in sight, seemed to be herding a group of about ten horses down the road. The dogs seemed deliberate in how they were barking at the horses and getting them to stay together, and then a bit farther down the road the dogs made the horses cross over to the other side of the street. Cars came to a halt to wait for the horses to cross. I thought it was hilarious! I couldn't tell if the dogs had been given some kind of instructions like, "go get the horses and bring them home," or if they were just out on a joy-herding mission. Andrew managed to snap a shot of the commotion:
2) It turns out that Segui is an excellent "tracker." All these years I just haven't been paying attention. Andrew and I took Segui out for a stroll in the Canyon de Chelly area and watched -- on the way home -- as Segui retraced our steps exactly in order to get us back to camp. We came upon numerous points where there were choices to make as far as which way to go, and every time Segui chose the path that retraced our steps. I was so impressed! Now we know who to trust if we're trying to get home after dark:
