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We drove through Canyon De Chelly (pronounced 'De Shay') in the morning and early afternoon. Canyon De Chelly comes from a Navajo word. The canyon is run jointly by the Navajo Nation and the National Park Service. Navajos live in and around the canyon, raising cattle and sheep and growing crops.
We chose the northern rim of the canyon to visit first. As we drove along, each overlook contained greater and greater threats of car burglaries until the final warning simply stated that no one should leave their car unattended, even to walk the trail to the overlook. With all our belongings stored in the van, we didn't wander very far. The sites we saw were tremendous views and included several cliff dwellers, similar to what we witnessed at Mesa Verde National Park.
The southern rim of the canyon appeared more prosperous, as though we were now on a different side of the tracks. The warning signs disappeared and the number of tourists increased greatly. Having seen so many similar sights in southern Utah, we skipped most of the overlooks and went straight to the end of the canyon and the most famous rock formation - Spider Rock.
Unlike other canyons we've seen, Canyon De Chelly lives and breaths at the bottom. The valley floor contained horses and cattle. Pickup trucks drive back and forth. Aspen trees dotted the landscape (I know it's a cliché but it's true!).
We enjoyed Canyon De Chelly but it really does seem like almost everything else we've seen the past week. The only major difference is the presence of the Navajo people.
Leaving Canyon De Chelly, we drove towards Flagstaff, Arizona. Along Interstate 40 we saw signs for Petrified Forest National Park. We hadn't planned on visiting this park but it was a good chance to get a stamp on Ann's National Parks passport. I visited Petrified Forest National Park years ago and disliked it then. It didn't get any better. It may be the most boring place on earth, assuming that you're not a geologist. The best part of the park is the huge hunks of polished petrified wood in the Visitors Center.
The San Francisco Peaks of Flagstaff can be seen from Petrified Forest National Park, one hundred fifteen miles away. We drove toward Flagstaff for an hour and a half, keeping this mountain in our view at all times.
I haven't complained about motels since those first couple of days but I got suckered again. We checked into a Super 8 here in Flagstaff tonight and found the phone system to be woefully inadequate again. The motel looks nice on the outside; it has been recently refurbished. But the phones don't have modular jacks! The rooms don't even have individual heating and cooling units! Our room was stuffy and we couldn't figure out how to get the air conditioning to work. I called the front desk and was informed that the motel is in "heating mode" and that I couldn't get air conditioning in my room. We opened the sliding glass door, cooled off the room, and listened to the trucks zoom back and forth on Interstate 40. I'm going to ask every hotel whether or not they have data ports from now on.
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