September 18, 2008

September 18, 2008

It is a little too late in the season for us to be staying at 9000-foot elevation with a thinly insulated house. Nighttime temps drop uncomfortably below freezing here. So from the Kaibab Plateau, we retrace our path and head back downhill towards Page, AZ. After crossing the Colorado River we continue east across the center of the Navajo Nation Reservation, the largest in the US at 27,000 square miles and occupying most of northeastern Arizona. Right in the center of the Navajo Nation is the Hopi Reservation. Traveling this route can be hard on the watch as the Navajos follow Daylight Savings time while the Hopis and the rest of Arizona do not.

Our travel thru this very desolate land of mesas and dry grasslands is only interrupted with a brief stop to see some roadside Dinosaur footprints. A hand painted sign is our only heads-up. A couple Indian kids give us the dime tour for a small tip. This flat rock expanse is full of footprints, coprolites (dino poo), and deteriorated skeletons everywhere you look.

After driving all day we arrive at Canyon de Chelly National Monument and stay at the park’s campground. We are ecstatic to find it is wide open. When Aimee had called earlier in the day she was told it was booked. I was afraid we were going to have to spend the night in some parking lot. Fortunately Aimee felt lucky and we came anyway. After dinner we attended a campground ranger talk to watch a local Navajo woman decorate a beautiful clay pot.