By Patricia H. Kushlis
On August 8th, I wrote about the Monument Valley, the valley in Arizona – and a tiny slice of Utah – not California, that film director John Ford made famous. But there’s another site on the Navajo Reservation that is just as spectacular. This is Canyon de Chelly. It’s located to Monument Valley’s south and east. It is still in (Photo: Canyon de Chelly from Tsegi Overlook - Photo by PHKushlis 2009) Arizona but much closer to the New Mexico border than Monument Valley.
Maybe Canyon de Chelly (corruption of the Navajo name Tseyi) is less well known because it did not figure in twentieth century Hollywood film lore. Or perhaps because it’s off well traveled grand-tours-of-the-Southwest-tour-company routes. Or because – well - how many canyons can a tourist visit without one blurring into the next. After all the Grand Canyon has many more tourist amenities and is far closer to “civilization” via the major cross country Interstate (I-40) that makes visits there far more accessible for the greatest numbers.
Lack of crowds a plus
But the lack of crowds is part of what makes Canyon de Chelly - designated a National Monument not National Park – so appealing. A private visitor can take the self-drive tour along the rim road stopping at well marked look outs with plenty of time and space to see, photograph and read about the Anasazi ruins, the various tribes that inhabited the canyon – one replacing the other over time - as well as just enjoy the natural beauty of the geology still well preserved by both the US Park Service and the Navajo.
Canyon de Chelly is also unique because it is the only US National Monument that is run in cooperation with the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Tribal Council voted in its favor in 1925 and the bill passed Congress in 1931. Navajos still live within – and, of course, beyond - the boundaries, farm its valley in spring and summer and guide visitors down and back up the steep canyon walls to the rivers below.
Perhaps the most famous picture of Canyon de Chelly is one by the early photographer Edward S. Curtis taken in 1904 that the New York Times sold as a limited edition print earlier this year. Since I discovered the same or a similar photograph – or I think it is the same – as a free-bee on Wikipedia, (photo left) I don’t really see the need to buy a copy from the Times – or anyone else. Or maybe the Curtis photo the Times is selling is different – but it sure looks like the one on Wikipedia to me. Regardless, I took my own photos. And since I don’t collect historic photos anyway, I plan to forgo the Times offer.
A humbling site
Curtis’s photo of a small group of horses and riders at the base of the canyon walls evokes a quiet solitude of a far off place more than a century ago that did not become a National Monument until 1931. This photograph depicts what insignificant specks humans really are in comparison to the enormous rock formations that tower above.
What makes Canyon de Chelly unique is that this essence of insignificance is still there. The ancient dwellings at the canyon’s base and carved into caves in its walls are specks. Telescopes or telescopic lenses are needed to see them from the rim. So too the farms, people, cows, cars and horses along the river’s edge or even fording the river itself.
Two of the best known sites within the canyon are the White House Overlook and Trail and the magnificent Spider Rock. Both views (and the White House Trail) are accessible from the south rim drive – plan to spend several hours because each of the seven overlooks off this 16 mile paved road offers a unique vista. Canyon del Muerto – another part of the Canyon de Chelly National Monument is yet another experience which we will need to return to another time.
(Photo right: South Rim Drive - fording the river 2009 style by PHKushlis and photo left: Spider Rock by PHKushlis 2009).
As with Monument Valley, lather on the sun screen, wear good walking shoes and a sun hat and take plenty of water with you. Unlike Monument Valley, however, the drive is on paved roads (only the short segments to the overlooks are not) and Canyon de Chelly is open all year.
Getting there: Take Route 3 North from I-40 at Gallup to 191 west of Ganado. Drive north on 191 to Chinle and east on Route 7 to the Canyon de Chelly US National Monument Visitor Center to pick up maps, history and the Motoring Guide. The South Rim drive ends at Spider Rock Overlook. The North Rim drive is along Route 64 when ends at Route 12. Like Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly is surrounded by the Navajo Nation.