Land of the Hopi and Navajo Tour offered by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

I moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Tucson, Arizona in 1970.  Before I left, some friends and colleagues gave me Peggy Larson's book, Deserts of America (Prentice-Hall, 1970) to introduce me to the area.  After moving here, setting down roots and falling in love with this marvelous city, I put together a list of at least 100 reasons why one would want to visit greater Tucson.  One of those reasons was the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (known as ASDM) which we joined early  on and have remained members for many years.

The ASDM publishes a quarterly newsletter that includes a list of classes and trips offered to members.  When our copy arrived last Fall, I noticed that the "Land of the Hopi and Navajo" was being offered this Spring - here is the description that enticed me and my husband to immediately sign up:  "Explore the stark sandstone geology and the ancient cultures of Arizona's Colorado Plateau.  Visit the Hopi Mesa and the homes of Kachina artisans, and walk a Hopi corn field.  Step into Jurassic dinosaur tracks, find fossil oysters and learn about the seas and sand dunes that covered this area millions of years ago.  Visit the Hubbell Trading Post and Petrified Forest.  Enjoy a sunrise breakfast in Monument Valley, two nights in Canyon de Chelly, and one in Winslow's grand railroad hotel La Posada."

How could we resist?  After all, Enrique and I had lived here many years and had never visited anything on this list!!  Rather, one (before we were married) or both of us had driven past Monument Valley on our way to other places, we had driven countless times to and from the Grand Canyon, and a couple of years ago we had driven on past the Grand Canyon into Utah to explore Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument - all on the Colorado Plateau.  I have been pestering Enrique for years to take a detour to Winslow to stay in La Posada and watch the trains go by.  What an opportunity to have someone else drive us and to learn about what we would be seeing from Sonya Norman who has a B.S. in Geosciences from the University of Arizona and is the Public Programs Coordinator for ASDM and Bonnie Corey, an ASDM docent for 20 years who has previously led field trips for the Nature Conservancy, National Audubon Society, ASDM and Elderhostel.

So, last month we left Tucson at 7:30 am and headed north.  Here is the route we took and the order in which we visited the various sites:

Here's what we were told to expect, what to wear, and what to bring:

What TO EXPECT

• The trip will range in elevation from approximately 2,800' at the Desert Museum to 7,000' in Show Low, Arizona.  The high country can be chilly in the evening and morning and sometimes is very windy [and dusty], so be prepared.  Daytime temperatures should be in the mid-70's, nights in the low 40's.
• The tour through Hopiland offers excellent opportunities to purchase works of art from the Hopi artists.
• The hike in the Petrified Forest National Park is moderate, and the hikes at Navajo National Monument and White House ruins are steep.  All hikes are optional.
• I want to add that cellphone coverage could be spotty.  The trip itinerary provides phone numbers of the places we stay.

WHAT TO WEAR (remember this trip was mid to late April)

• Comfortable, layered clothing; jacket, gloves, scarf, warm hat for cold evenings and mornings
• Comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots
• Sunscreen, sunglasses and [definitely] a hat

WHAT TO BRING

• picnic lunch for the first day
• refillable water bottle (full)
• travel mug
• money for meals (estimate is $300)
• money for artisan purchases
• small day pack for walks and personal items to have handy in the van
• one duffel bag or small suitcase for your clothing.  Dress clothes not needed [not even for dinner - everything was very casual]
• there is an indoor swimming pool at Kayenta hotel, so bring swimwear if you wish
• note pad, pen, pencil
• walking stick (optional)
• camera(s) [be sure to ask permission before taking ANY photo(s) - our guides gave us further information on this point]
• Golden Age, IA or National Parks Pass 

SUGGESTED READING LIST

• Novels by Tony Hillerman (easy reading, but informative about geology, history and culture)
• Hopi by Page and Page
• The Book of the Navajo by Ramoni Friday Locke
• The Colorado Plateau: A Geologic History by Donald Baars
• Roadside Geology of Arizona by Halka Chronic

I would add:

• Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau by Ron Blakey and Wayne Ranney
• Over the Edge: Fred Harvey at the Grand Canyon and in the Great Southwest by Kathleen L. Howard and Diana F. Pardue [I found this book on the shelf at most of the places we visited along the way and, full disclosure,  Kathy is a friend of mine.]
• Roadside History Series - Roadside History of Arizona by Marshall Trimble
• Dine Bahane - the Navajo Creation Story - by Paul G. Zolbrod

To simplify this presentation, I am providing parts of the itinerary handed to us the morning of our trip that was modified as we went along depending on availability of guides, weather, detours, etc.  Each day I will include some photos Enrique and I took, and comments about our experiences/reactions.

Arizona is a big state - 113,998 square miles.  We drove something like 975 miles total and our first and last days were the longest (between 277 and 235 miles) in order to get to the northern regions of the state and into Utah. 

Drive into the high country of pine forest and red sandstone through Payson via Route 87.  Stop at East Fork of the Verde River to view "The Great Unconformity", a 700 million year hiatus of the geologic record.  Arrive in Winslow mid-afternoon.  Harvey Girls history tour at 4:15 pm, and a walking tour of town at 5:30 pm.  Dinner reservations are at 6:30 pm. Lodging is in the restored La Posada Hotel in Winslow, the last of the great railroad hotels (928-289-4366).

We traveled in two 9-passenger vans

At East Fork where the formation above us illustrates how soft layers can disappear or be covered due to uplift and erosion leaving impervious formations behind thus losing, so to speak, some of the visible geologic record

A history of La Posada provided by a guide wearing the original outfit of a "Harvey Girl"

Before dinner, we walked around Winslow a bit, stood on the famous "corner" to have our picture taken and spotted the Winslow City Hall:

We freshened up and went to dinner at La Posada's fabulous gourmet restaurant, the Turquoise Room, and then returned to our room for a good night's sleep.  Friends of ours have come here to stay the night and enjoy wine out on the terrace while watching the trains come through.

Day 2:  Next morning, we gathered in an outdoor patio for a delicious breakfast provided by our tour leaders before leaving at 8:30 am to drive across the Painted Desert and onto the Hopi reservation of three mesas and their villages.  The First Mesa villages are world-renowned for their hand-coiled, white pottery.  

A village is visible on top of this mesa

Our first stop was the Hopi Cultural Center Inn (928-734-2401) where we later would have dinner, spend the night, and where I enjoyed blue corn pancakes for breakfast the next morning. 

 From here we followed our guide, Joseph Day, to the First Mesa home of the Hopi-Tewa potterer "Rainy" who with her daughter and granddaughter welcomed us into her home and led us through the steps to yield her award winning pots - from locating and gathering the clay, to forming the shape, to sanding and smoothing the - in this case gorgeous pot - and then creating a thin brush of human hair to - freehand - paint designs either handed down to her by her mother or created herself to firing the pot in an open oven behind their home.  We asked her permission to photograph one of her pots which, because it developed a hairline crack, would not be offered for sale.

An unfinished pot and the materials from which Rainy creates the colors she uses to design and decorate her pot

You are looking at her interpretation of hummingbirds

We followed our guide, Joseph Day, to Tsakurshovi, the home of Janice and Joseph Day on Second Mesa, where we enjoyed a picnic lunch.  Joseph who is a white man and who has lived on Second Mesa with his Hopi wife for more than thirty years, provided us with an overview of the Hopi culture and customs.  He then introduced us to "Justis" who walked us through the art of creating a Kachina or Katsina starting with the gathering of the cottonwood tree root, the carving of the root, painting and then the identification and gathering of the materials to dress/decorate the carved Kachina which is "....the carved spirit essence of everything in the real world."  We learned that the actual number of Kachina is unknown but is estimated to be somewhere between 250 and 350.  More can be learned about the Hopi Kachinas in a book with the same title by Ray Manley Publishing.

Joseph then invited us to follow him down off the Mesa and to his garden plot where he introduced us to the concept of "dry farming."  The link provides a good explanation.  We walked on the soil that might be described as sandy loam deep under which lies a broad sandstone base.  The water from the winter rain/snow collects above the sandstone and keeps the soil moist hopefully through the very short growing season.  The seeds sprout in about ten days and the harvest occurs only a couple of months later.  He showed us his Hopi hoe that he uses to remove the weeds before planting.  Once the seeds are planted, he protects them with #10 cans (eg peaches) to keep the rodents/birds away.  

Back to the Hopi Cultural Center Inn on top of Second Mesa for dinner, sleep, and breakfast the next morning.

Day 3:  We started our day's journey by visiting Old Oraibi, on Third Mesa, the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in North America, established approximately in 900-1000 A.D.  The inhabitants, estimated to be less than 240 people, are traditionalists, preferring to haul up their water and to burn coal for heating and cooking.  A few of the residents have solar panels which provide enough electricity for lighting in the evening and owning a refrigerator.  We were given a tour of the village by a woman who is an elder in the village.  She demonstrated pot making as well as corn roasting.  We were asked not to take any photos.

We then proceeded to Coal Mine Canyon.  Never heard of it?  Neither had we.  Coal Mine Canyon forms part of the border between Hopi and Navajo Land and is on the edge of the Painted Desert.   It is of Dakota sandstone in which one can find oyster shell reefs and coal deposits. We were sent hunting for artifacts as we walked around.   As well, there are seams of coal. Here we enjoyed a Mesozoic geology lesson and went hunting for shells.  The rock formations and colors here were wonderful!

a seam of coal

Next stop, Tuba city and dinosaur tracks followed by a drive on to the Wetherill Inn and supper in Kayenta, Arizona (928-697-3231).  Enrique's camera captured a dust devil, one of the many that blew across the area while we were walking around.  I was genuinely disappointed that because we lost time during the earlier presentations and discussions, we were unable to stop at Navajo National Monument and the Betatakin Ruins.  For years I had a print of the Ruins in my dining room and had looked forward to hiking there a bit.  We will need to go back.

Not so big claw

Big claws!

Day 4:  [Back to the Itinerary]:  This morning we rise very early and depart at 5:30 a.m. for a sunrise tour of Monument Valley via the backcountry with a Navajo guide.  Breakfast is in the valley.

Here I could, but won't, inundate you with the many photos we took.  We just managed to get there by sunrise, boarded a jeep arranged by Goulding's Lodge and once aboard one of their large jeeps, we scouted all through the valley ending up in a picnic area at the base of a huge red sandstone wall.  One of our group played a flute prompting our Navajo guide to retrieve his drum and to join her, singing a tribute to the Navajo veterans of former wars.  I spotted the moon, too, and both of us captured her at various times during the morning.  The light changed every second, altering what we were looking at.

Following our drive, we returned to Kayenta and a Burger King for lunch (check out the link!).  The owner of the franchise, Richard Mike, is the son of a Navajo Code Talker.  He created a site in honor of Navajo veterans and especially the Navajo Code Talkers.

We then drove about an hour and a half on to Chinle and checked into the Thunderbird Lodge, a former trading post (928-674-5841).  As soon as we arrived, I was convinced that I had stayed here back in 1962 with my mother and my brother during our tour around the country after my graduation from high school!  The location is very quiet and there is a cafeteria on the grounds.

After catching our breath and gathering hiking poles and water, a few of us drove to the trail head for the White House Ruins (the one place you can descend without the necessary Navajo guide) and descended into Canyon de Chelly for a look.  One person in our group described the hike as a Tumamoc Hill in reverse.  Reassured, I enthusiastically headed down.  We walked about a half mile along the wash to see the ruins directly across from us.  There are restroom facilities here.

you can see part of the well-maintained trail 

two of our group heading on down

A tunnel right before we emerged at the bottom of the canyon

This view of the White House Ruins from across the wash whetted our appetite for a closer look the following morning.

As we were checking in, Bonnie noticed this poster and brought it out for all of us to have a look.  We were invited to gather after dinner on the lawn to watch.

Having obtained permission to take a couple of photos or a short video, Enrique took this photo of me with the young man who came over unexpectedly to where I was sitting and asked me to join him.  He reassured me that he would quietly tell me when we were turning and in which direction.  We seemed to dance for at least 5 minutes, possibly 10.  Following the dance I and the other person invited to dance were blessed with a long, healthy and happy life.  What an experience!!

After a leisurely breakfast (blue corn pancakes and eggs were on my list again!!), we gathered in the parking area for a three hours (became 4 hours) tour through the bottom of Canyon de Chelly and on into Canyon del Muerto.  There are at least 300 Anasazi ruins here.  Later in the afternoon we all drove along the south rim of Canyon de Chelly to see Spider Rock.  There's quite a bit of history in connection with this site.

Looking at the photos, you'll gather quickly that we had an exciting time.  Water was running in the Chinle Wash, quite deep in places, and two of our vehicles became stuck.  Our driver (Enrique and I climbed into a four-person jeep with our driver and "Jim",  a fellow visiting from N California who was given a vacant spot with our group) saved the day more than once.  The water was continuing to rise throughout the morning and once we had reached Antelope Ruins, the drivers made the decision to turn around and get out.  So we did.

Another canyon tour company used these six-wheeled fatter tire vehicles

Our jeep driver pulled the other jeep on out of the wash from where it had been stuck to shallower water and then to dry land.

Unnamed ruins

The White House ruins again

This ruin is older; the inhabitants undoubtedly moved to the higher location

We were there, mud splattered and all

on up the canyon

you can ride or hike into the canyon, as well

Antelope Ruins

This sacred Navajo symbol dates far before World War II 

one of the antelope pictographs appears to have been painted over

Sheep, goats, even wild horses and people live in the canyon

Spider Rock named for Spider Woman

a granary  at the base of the rock

Another view from another angle

On our way to Holbrook through Snowflake and on to the Hubbell Trading Post

Day Six:  We left the lodge at 8:30 am and headed to Ganado and the Hubbell Trading Post - a National Monument and still a working trading post purchasing hand-made rugs and jewelry from local artisans similar to the way it operated since 1878. 

[On the way we passed through Snowflake where our family owned property when my children were little.  We would drive up during the summer and camp.  We would haul in water from town, shop every few days and stored our food in coolers.  The kids, who carried whistles if they needed help, loved to run all over the 120 acres from the road up to the top of the mesa and found arrowheads, pieces of pottery and other items.   In the photo you see someone holding a microphone.  As we drove either Sonya or Bonnie would share information about the areas we were driving through.]

While at Hubbell Trading Post we were taken on a tour of the grounds while our guide described the life and work of the family.  You can take a virtual tour by clicking on the link above.

Another "we were there" photo.

John Lorenzo Hubbell

A beautifully woven rug.  The spirit line is barely visible in the upper left hand corner

interior of part of the barn

more of the barn's structure

Want to stay here?  You can!  Inquire through the Trading Post - "artist in residence"

After enjoying a picnic lunch at the the Trading Post headed south and drove on through the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert.  While one group hiked here, we drove on and stopped at several places for beautiful views before meeting up at the south end and the Petrified Forest headquarters.  You can read about the Painted Desert Inn here.  It has quite a history and the Civilian Conservation Corps beautifully helped to remodel the place.  Several paintings adorn the walls, all done by Fred Kabotie.

Formerly the Painted Desert Inn

Here is one:

Aptly called badlands

One of the places we stopped was the Puerco Ruin and associated Petroglyphs.

Here I want to insert the outdoor lamp we spotted at La Posada, also with an ibis:

We arrived quite late (just before 5 pm) at the Park Headquarters and quickly went inside to see the excavated fossils found here.  Then we strolled the grounds amazed by the amount of petrified wood lying around.  A tree, all in one piece but not all of it, illustrates that this place once was home to tall trees, and the fossils reveal the wildlife that prowled here, as well.

We were delighted to find this plaque honoring Stephen Mather.  I'd always wondered who Mather Point was named after.  Now I know.

Isn't this beautiful.  How wonderful that people leave these fossils behind for others to enjoy!

I was surprised and pleased to find such a simple statement about climate here.

We have lots more photos than I've included throughout this post and I may add more.   I know that some of our friends are planning trips out this way so figured I should get this posted and "live". There was so much to see!

Following our stop, we drove on to Holbrook and our lodging at the Globetrotter Lodge (928-524-3948).

We freshened up and strolled up the street a bit to our restaurant - Butterfield Stage Co. Steak House where reservations had been made for a wonderful steak dinner and great wine/margaritas. I should note here that no alcohol is served at any location within the Navajo and Hopi reservations so after we left La Posada, we were enjoying coffee, tea and sodas.  I found this soda at the Thunderbird Lodge and hope to find out if any place here in Tucson carries it.  Decaffeinated and very tasty.

 I want to "talk up" the Globetrotter Lodge because it is owned by Mona and Peter Hoeller, two travelers originally from Austria who loved this area of the country so much they bought this inn and have spent the last few years remodeling it.  They also run it like a bed and breakfast so in the morning, after a good night's sleep, we were invited into the office/dining room where we were served eggs done to our liking, bread of various kinds for toast, freshly cut fruit, orange juice, cereal/milk, and coffee or tea.

We left soon after breakfast and headed towards Tucson via the beautiful Salt River Canyon where we stopped for our final geology lesson about tectonic plates among other things.  Lunch was in Globe at a great Mexican restaurant - La Casita Cafe in the middle of town.  The last part of our drive south and around the north side of the Catalina Mountain range took us past amazing folded rock formations.  What a wonderful time we had!!!

view from the old bridge over the Salt River