Canyon de Chelly (pronounced "de Shay") is a National Monument that is jointly operated by the National Park Service and the Navajo Nation. Although most famous for its cliff dwellings, the canyon is quite a beautiful place and would be worth the visit even without the ruins.
An Indian guide is required in order to venture up into the canyon, so we signed up for one of the Thunderbird Lodge Tours.
David, our Navajo guide
Ancient petroglyphs
A cadre of artists in the canyon painting... something.
Notice what looks like a Nazi Swastika painted on the cliff behind the ruins. Our guide assured us that this is an ancient religious symbol for the native peoples (not to mention that it predates the Nazi's by 1500 years).
More cliff paintings
The Anasazi built trails up the sides o the canyon. Can you spot the trail?(Hint: Look for toe-holes)
Some bear tracks that we saw at one of our stops.
We had a great time on the Navajo reservation. My perception is that native Americans are still somewhat bitter about the way their ancestors were treated by European settlers (I can't say that I blame them). I tried to explain to them that my ancestors were fighting Federal Troops during the same timeframe as theirs, but they were not impressed.
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