May 11, 2012 – A monumental day!

We left the Holiday Inn – Chinle around 7 am and headed north toward Kayenta.  The drive was very pretty, especially from Many Farms northwest to Kayenta.  The only “event” was when a llama ran out in front of the car!  There were cattle and horses pretty much running loose but nearly squishing a llama was a first for us.  Along the drive, we enjoyed the blue corn pancakes leftover from Thursday’s breakfast.

Owl Rock along Rt. 163 between Kayenta and Monument Valley

We were at Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park by 9 or so and hired a Navajo guide to take us into the canyon.  With the poor condition of the desert road and access restrictions in some areas, it was money well spent.  Our guide was very good and told us a lot about the area’s history and folklore.  He grew up in Monument Valley and his family has been here since Navajos returned to the area after The Long Walk and incarceration at Fort Sumner.  We saw a lot of monuments, rock windows and some Anasazi ruins.  The only wildlife we saw was a large bull snake and several large lizards.

Our ride through Monument Valley

The iconic mitten buttes at Monument Valley

After a quick lunch of some sandwiches and Corn Nuts, we drove to Navajo National Monument where we hiked down a canyon to overlook some Anasazi ruins from the village of Betatakin that was abandoned around 1300 AD.  We were back in Kayenta where we checked in to the Weatherill Inn and crashed for a bit. 

Dinner was at a small local place called Amigos Café where we both had enchiladas (Mary had beef, I had chicken) covered with the region’s special green chili sauce.  Since we walked a lot today, we are both tired and will turn in early again.

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