WINDOW ROCK and PETRIFIED FOREST

The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert are located East of Winslow, Arizona. Along the way we stopped in Window Rock, AZ to see this particular geological feature. 

NOTE TWO PEOPLE ON TOP OF THE WINDOW

MEMORIAL TO THE NAVAJO CODE TALKERS

WINDOW ROCK FORMATION

The town is in the Southeastern corner of Arizona, and is the home of the Navajo Tribal Government. We were there near the middle of the day, but once again the building of the monsoon clouds added impact to the photographs.

On an overcast day we visited the Petrified Forest. We were staying at La Posada in Winslow and drove East to the Park with the threat of rain outside the car windows. We never had any rain, while Winslow had rain most of the day.

LA POSADA, DESIGNED AND BUILT BY MARY COLTER

The weather was very conducive for photography as the overcast eliminated the very harsh shadows one would get on a sunny day. We traveled North from the South entrance stopping along the way at the Giant Logs, Crystal Forest, Jasper Forest, Agate Bridge, and Puerco Pueblo. Agate Bridge is a petrified tree which lies across a small ravine. A small cement bridge has been built underneath it to support it. Puerco Pueblo occupied between 1250 and 1400. There are a number of petroglyphs there as well as a summer solstice site.

EVEN RAVENS NEED TO DRINK

PUERCO PUEBLO

TRIBUTE TO ROUTE 66

Before we exited the park we also drove through the Painted Desert which is beautiful in its red colors and undulating ground.

 This is the end of our tour of Indian Country 2014. We have seen a lot of history, different Indian dwellings, and art. We really enjoyed our adventures and learning more about the culture of the Native Americans. Hope you enjoyed the voyage as well.

 

CANYON de CHELLY 2

We had signed on to an all day jeep ride in the Canyon with a Navajo guide. We had an excellent guide, Leone of Canyon de Chelly Tours. We explored most of Canyon del Muerto with our turn around point being the base of Mummy Cave. We saw a number of ruins including Antelope House, Mummy Cave, junction Ruins. There were also a number of pictographs and petroglyphs to be seen. Leone was also very receptive to requests to stop to get photographs.

CAVE WITH PICTOGRAPHS

PICTOGRAPH

MAN OF ROCK

WIND AND WATER EROSION

FIRST RUIN

FIRST RUIN IN WALL

JUNCTION RUIN

ANTELOPE HOUSE

ANTELOPE HOUSE AND ROCK FACE

DESERT VARNISH AND FOLIAGE

 

MUMMY CAVE (big picture)

MUMMY CAVE DETAIL 1

MUMMY CAVE DETAIL 2

A MONOLITH

LEDGE RUIN

After the tour, George and I went to the White House Ruin Overlook and hiked down to that ruin which is right on the canyon floor. It is the only place within the Canyon that you can walk to without a Navajo guide. We thoruoughly enjoyed the experience. The hike was 2.5 miles in length and the elevation change was +/_ 800 feet. 

WHITE HOUSE RUIN FROM CANYON FLOOR

WHITE HOUSE RUIN DETAIL

RIDGES AND SWIRLS

ROCK SWIRLS

TSEGI OVERLOOK VIEW

 Lots of interesting history to absorb here and an old way of life

still continues. 

CANYON de CHELLY 1

After exploring Hovenweep N.M., we traveled to Canyon de Chelly N. P. located approximately 90 miles to the South. As we drove South we stopped to photograph a few beautiful land formations – Chimney Rock, Shiprock, Red Valley, and views along the North side of Canyon de Chelly including Massacre Cave and Mummy Cave from their respective overlooks.

Massacre Cave gets it’s name from the massacre of the Navajo by the Spanish in 1805. Mummy  Cave gets its name from two mummified bodies found in the Cave by Archaeaologists in 1882.

Rock Ridge and Shiprock

Rock Ridge with George on Slope

Shiprock

Red Valley Rocky Wall

Red Valley

Massacre Cave Wall, Canyon de Chelly

Massacre Cave

Mummy Cave from Overlook

 We drove on to Sacred Canyon Lodge located within Canyon de Chelly. After a little unpacking we were off to the South Rim Drive to photograph Spider Rock, a famous formation which free stands approximately 800 feet above the Canyon floor. We wanted to capture images before the Rock went into shadow, and succeeded. We also stopped at the White House Ruins Overlook. We will try to take the hike down to the ruins tomorrow afternoon.

 

Spider Rock

Spider Rock and Canyon

View from a South Drive Overlook