Visiting the Navajo Indians

Friday, 09/28/18:

This morning we started very early, as we had booked a tour in the Lower Antelope Canyon several weeks ago. We were supposed to be there at 8:00 a.m., and the group of 15 people plus guide started at 8:30 a.m. It cost $50 and took about 1 1/4 hours to walk through the canyon. First, we went down a long staircase. Once at the bottom, we maneuvered through more and less narrow rock crevices. No wonder we were not allowed to bring backpacks, bags, selfie sticks, pets, etc. Some parts of the path were barely as wide as a foot...but we still managed to pass through, as slim and skinny as we are. We were fascinated by the fact that the color of the rock appeared to be light brown or red depending on the angle of view and the sunlight. The temperatures at that time were very bearable, probably because the sun was not high yet.

At almost 10:00 a.m., we were back in the car... and continued towards Monument Valley. We had a total of 3 hours of driving ahead of us. But after about 1 hour, we reached Navajo National Monument. It consists of several well-preserved cliff villages of the Anasazi culture that once lived there. We were the only ones here, except for 2-3 other tourists. After a short hike, we arrived at the viewpoint and could overlook the canyon. In fact, on the opposite cliff wall, we could see the abandoned mud and wood huts of the Betatakin village. Absolute silence prevailed here. No buzzing or humming...
After that, we continued driving to Monument Valley. Who doesn't know it from Western movies or Transformers... the red rocks that look like they were randomly dropped in the desert. We drove along the dusty 17-Mile Road past the red monoliths... the car could use a wash now... but it wouldn't be worth it. The next dusty trail is coming soon...
Best regards, Steffi