Day the Sixth

left auntie jan and uncle ladds place after a later start than planned, but in good spirits.

we started west on 40 and noticed the landscape begin to change. we initially planned on going to sedona, but i decided that i wanted to see the navajo reservation so we left 40 and headed north and then west into arizona.

hit window rock around noon and stopped at the local park offices. no one was there.

saw a sign for the 62nd annual navajo nation fair.

decided we wouldn't have a change like this again and pulled into the dusty parking area. a truck went by and our windows were down, still haven't gotten the dust and grit off the dash.

there was a dust devil. emily had never seen one.

we followed the sound of drum and song and realized we were in a very different place. though we were obvious outsiders and the only people who weren't navajo that we could see, we stood at the edge of the dance circle and tried to soak something in we didn't understand. it was very beautiful, i kept thinking about how i could mix navajo chant with tech metal.

we left in sort of a otherworldly stillness and headed north to canyon de *shelly (*pronounced shay). the canyon is a traditional home to the navajo, though other native nations lived there as far back as 3000 years ago. people who are not navajo are not allowed into the national monument without a native guide.

it was too late to get a park guide by the time we got there, so we wandered down to justin's horse rentals, which was little more than a shack and some horses just outside the entrance to the canyon, and we met terral, who agreed to take is into the canyon on horseback.

shorty helped get the horses ready, we quickly drove to our campsite on the eastern rim of the canyon at spider rock and realized that our camera was about to die. i kept it off so that i could get one picture in the canyon of one of the pueblo ruins we saw. words cannot describe the beauty of riding into a place that is still unmarred and solitary, ask us about it sometime in person.

the most beautiful and fascinating day so far.