C

Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly

The famous Navajo Indian site, commonly referred to as Canyon de Chelly is in fact two canyons, only one of which is de Chelly. The other lesser known name is Canyon del Muerto. The two canyons form a Y-shape where two rivers come together to form one. Created much like the Grand Canyon by wind and water action on porous limestone layers topped with harder rock strata, the scale of these two canyons is much smaller. Perhaps because the scale of them is a little easier to absorb for the human mind and eye, because you can see, and even hear, activity on the floor of the canyon from its rim, some say that Chelly (and Muerto) are more beautiful than the Grand Canyon itself. We don't agree with that evaluation, but do think that the canyons are beautiful indeed, and well worth the trip — but after you have already seen the Grand Canyon.

Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly

We drove up to Canyon de Chelly from Phoenix, stopping on the way to admire the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. We wondered on the way into the park whether we would find an available campsite. We were sure the Thunderbird Lodge, the upscale accommodation in the park would be beyond our means, but we had come equipped with our tent, king-size air-mattress, and cotton sleeping bags and so were confident of sleeping well if we could only find a spot to pitch our tent. We need not have worried. We don't know when the busy season is for the canyon, but a weekday in July certainly wasn't. The cottonwood campground, just below the visitor's center was almost empty as we drove around it looking at the sites. It wasn't exactly a beautiful campground, but the sites were reasonably spaced, the toilet facilities were modern and included flush toilets, running water, and a clean supply of drinking water. Our only question was should we pitch the tent now and so be sure of a site, or wait until we got back after our afternoon of sight-seeing (no pun intended, Paloma)? We opted to pitch the tent, so that we wouldn't have to rush back.

Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly

We spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the Canyon de Chelly via what is called the South Rim in imitation of the Grand Canyon. The experience is quite different. Here, the canyon floor is visible with the naked eye from the rim and you can make out animals grazing, fences, and both temporary and permanent structures. The opposite rim of the canyon is also clearly within view, although binoculars are sometimes needed to see clearly the ruins that cling to the canyon cliffs here and there. The effect is nothing short of stunning. Our first stop, Spider Rock overlook, is the most famous viewpoint and deservedly so. The eponymous Spider Rock is a butte that shoots up from the center of the canyon to almost the height of the rim, shown at the top of this page. It is an extraordinary piece of nature.

Canyon de Chelly

Altogether there are about 7 different viewpoints spread over a distance of some 12 miles. Each is different. Some overlook ruins on the canyon walls or floor. But even when there are no ruins to admire, there is the canyon floor itself, dotted with animals, there are now and again noises from below that sound remarkably near. And of course there are numerous side canyons, some wide, some narrow, all add to the natural beauty of the site.

Trail to White House Ruins

The next morning we woke up early, left the campground before 8 a.m. and drove directly to White House Ruins overlook to hike the trail down into the canyon and across it to the ruins themselves. This is the only part of the canyon that you can enter without a guide. We would perhaps have liked to tour other parts of the canyon, but given our time constraints and our natural predisposition to dislike guided tours, we chose this as the best way for us to get a feel for the canyon.

White House Ruins

Canyon de Chelly

The trail switchbacks down the cliff face then flattens out across a rocky area, dips into a narrow crevice, goes through a rock tunnel and emerges into a small wood. At the end of the wood, we are on the valley floor and follow a sandy trail along the creek bank to a bridge and then cross to the other side of the valley to the site. The ruin is impressive, but we are disappointed to have to look at it through barbed wire. Sad that such things are needed to protect the site, and even sadder that the protective mechanism intrudes so much on the visitor's enjoyment.

Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly

White House Trail

After playing tourist, we come back to a group of vendors near the entrance to the ruins and Jan buys a nice little turquoise pendant for Jade Atkinson’s birthday next month. Gerry buys a lovely piece of pottery that we think we’ll give to Donna and Mark Chandler for their wedding present. And finally, Gerry buys Jan a lovely pendant that has a long oval turquoise inset in silver on one side and inlaid with black on the other. It’s an early birthday present.

Jan on the White House Ruins Trail

Canyon de Chelly

We climb back up to the rim and are pleased to find that it is not too, too taxing. We have made the round trip in three hours including our time spent buying souvenirs. The posted time for the round trip is 2.5 hours, so we are not too sluggardly.

Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly

For lunch we drive into the town of Chinle so that we can get buy some fruit for our supper and a paper, then skedaddle back to the Canyon to spend the afternoon touring the North Rim. We drive some twenty miles along the rim to the far end then work our way back towards the campground stopping along the way to admire sites like the one shown below, another set of ancient ruins.

Canyon de Chelly

Overall, we are very impressed with Canyon de Chelly. The canyon floor is lovely and green and contrasts sharply with the red sandstone of the canyon walls. It is not, however, as the brochure implies, a match for the Grand Canyon. Lovely as it is, it’s just not anywhere near the Grand Canyon in scale or majesty.