Canyon de Chelly

On Saturday we got to go on a tour of Canyon de Chelly. Every year the high school staff does an end of the year trip, and since Devon and one other person were the only ones to volunteer for the committee they got to decide. We have been wanting to go to Canyon de Chelly for a long time, but you cannot go in without a guide, so it was very handy to have the school pay. The drive there and back was a little crazy because there was a bad windstorm. the dust was so thick it was like fog- you couldn't see 20 feet in front of you. In one spot sand dunes were forming on the road!
Canyon de Chelly is a canyon in Arizona where many Navajos lived before "The Long Walk." There were some Spanish raids, but then when the US won that area in the Mexican war they sent Kit Carson to Americanize the Navajo. They drove them to Fort Sumner in New Mexico. Many people died on the way and even more died there because there was not enough food. It is ironic that they were trying to teach them a "better way of life" but ended up starving them and spreading disease. Seven thousand people were driven from the canyon and only 2,000 returned.
It was a beautiful place. Miles and miles of winding Canyons. There were tons of trees, and everything was so green. We rode in some WWII vehicle, it was a very bumpy ride. There were a few times I felt like I might fly out! It was a very windy day, the wind was not as bad in the canyon, but we saw a few lost hats from unexpected wind gusts. We took Spencer's hat off, we couldn't loose that! There were lots of pictographs from Anasazi, Hopi and Navajo. There were also ruins from cliff dwellings. Some Navajo people still have summer homes here. It is a great place to plant things, but there is no running water or electricity. It is pretty enough that I wouldn't mind having a summer home here. It would probably be nice and cool too. We had a wonderful time. Both of the boys somehow fell asleep on the bumpy ride. I guess I found another favorite place.