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Week 1 - Phoenix to Gallup; Canyon de Chelly

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Tuesday 28 June 1994: After filling up our water tank from an ancient hand pump, it was back to Chinle in the morning for shopping at Imperial Mart - 'Serving the Navajo people since 1968', but there was of course no alcohol available. So, we made the short journey to the south rim drive of Canyon de Chelly National Monument (pronounced Chey). We stopped at junction point overlook and were shown some 'ruins' by a friendly Indian who also sold us some juniper ear-rings for $2 and assured us that we would have no nightmares as a result - good value! A little further along the drive is White House Point Overlook, at which there is a trail going to the bottom of the Canyon, the only one where an official guide is not required. The track was moderately strenuous, especially in the heat on the way back, but not too bad. There were cacti, lots of colorful rocks, a herd of goats with bells, and the White House Ruins themselves. These well-preserved ancient dwellings stand at the foot of a sheer 200 meter cliff and are well worth the journey down, which takes about one hour.

White House ruins

The canyon walls

However, the most spectacular part of the canyon, and one of the highlights of the trip for me, was further east, where two spires of rock, 1,000 feet tall, tower majestically from the valley floor. Named Spider Rocks by the Indians, they are the subject of various legends and are still regarded as sacred. The overlook was refreshingly free of other people, perhaps because it is the farthest point along the rim drive. Still, it is definitely worth the trip. We returned to Chinle for more gas - the station had no meter on the pump - just trust!, drove along the north rim without stopping, down road 12 which went briefly into New Mexico and went through Window Rock, capital of the Navajo Nation. After this we crossed the border and joined our first interstate highway, I-40 at Gallup. This town seemed to consist largely of ethnic and pawn shops - we didn't see anything which warranted stopping. Driving east, on the right of the highway there was a dramatic series of red cliffs, reputedly the setting for many cowboy films, but they didn't look familiar.

It was getting late, so we tried to find somewhere to spend the night, first making a small diversion to Bluewater Lake. However, entry was $6 and it didn't seem especially nice so we retraced our steps past the abandoned gift shops of the nearby town, through Prewitt along old Route 66 (past many more abandoned buildings), and up a deserted-looking side road (605) in the direction of San Mateo. A track on the left led up into the barren countryside and there were plenty of places to camp. The spot we chose appeared to be the site of an old mine, with rusting cars and machinery scattered about, and with many inquisitive cattle as well - really atmospheric. I found a small hole in the ground which seemed to go a very long way down - a dropped stone bounced for several seconds. A small bird flew out of the opening, which startled me somewhat. During the evening, an amazing thunderstorm with no rain, and the distant howling of some animals, made for a rather spooky night.

Spider Rocks

Remains of a car

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