6/27-6/28--Navajo Reservation

We left the Hopis and continued on to the Navajo reservation while listening to Indian radio on 88.1 on the dial. That station ROCKS!! There is no descernible format really, and you'll hear the Bee Gees followed by Patsy Cline and then some traditional Indian ceremonial music and then back to KC and the Sunshine Band. My kind of schizo playlist. Our ultimate destination was the Thunderbird Lodge in a town called Chinle. It's pronounced "Chin Lee" with equal stress on both syllables, so I thought it was some Chinese outpost in the middle of the reservation. Not quite. It's pretty much a dusty little town in the Canyon de Chelly area (pronounced Canyon de SHAY.) After about 4 hours, we finally arrived, checked in and went straight to the cafeteria-style restaurant for aweful food that cost way too much. Unlike the Hopis who were so warm and giving, no one here seemed particularly friendly, so we decided we preferred Hopis to Navajos.

After dinner we went to our room which was actually very nice, watched some news coverage on Michael Jackson's death, where I gained a new-found respect for Deepak Chopra who just railed against those Hollywood doctors who indiscriminately write scripts for celebrities, get them addicted to all kinds of medication and promote drug habits. He went so far as to say that they are pretty much street dealers with medical licenses.

The next morning we woke up early and went on another adventure through the res, taking Hwy 191 down through all these historical little towns like Ganado where a particularly popular Navajo rug is made. In Ganado is the well-known Hubble Trading Post. We had a look around and bought some gifts for Tina and Ray. They had some really nice jewelry (different from the usual--and at this point, boring--Indian jewelry) we had seen so much of. The 2 Navajo clerks behind the counter were really nice and explained a lot of things about the artists, Navajo symbolism, etc. In the course of conversation, Daniel mentioned that they were the friendliest people we had come across on the res. This seemed to surpris the young man. I guess Navajos are viewed by most as very warm and kind people. Daniel said that no one seemed to want to talk to us, and that's when the clerk educated us about the one thing I'll remember from that entire conversation: Navajos consider it rude to make direct eye contact. Well that explained a lot! Not only are they not particularly chatty, they don't look at you too much because they don't want to be rude. Then, he gently turned it around on us by asking why eye contact was so important to white people. It was an interesting lesson in cultural differences.

We finally made it down to I-40 and headed to Flagstaff. We stopped off near the Petrified Forest National Park but didn't actually go into it. At this point I think Daniel and I were feeling a little tired and almost overwhelmed by the constant natural beauty that has surrounded us since we were in Colorado. I know, I know--it's like whining about having too many designer shoes in your closet. While we love the mountains, valleys, canyons, and rock formations, I for one have been losing a little steam when it comes to sightseeing. All this driving can get pretty taxing. We just wanted to get to FLAGSTAFF.