Four Corners

Many Farms. Dennehotso. Naschitti. Teec Nos Pos. Shiprock (named after a monolith that is supposed to look like a ship). Kayenta. Mexican Water. Those are just some of the place names I passed today. I spent most day driving around the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona, Utah, and finally New Mexico (with a short dash into Colorado). In short, I spent the day in the Four Corners area, and I did, in fact, do the corny thing and visited the Four Corners Tribal Park. Well, I was only five miles down the road anyway, so why not?

I began my day with the much anticipated visit to Canyon de Chelly, which actually consists of two main canyons: Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto, both equally stunning. Canyon del Muerto has the so-called Mummy Cave ruin, or what the Navajo call The House Under The Rock. It was inhabited from 300 to 1300 CE and was built high up into alcoves within a sheer cliff. The photos I took make it look like tiny toy houses but the site is actually pretty big. Canyon de Chelly has Spider Rock, two 800-foot rocks that - according to the Navajo - are the home of Spider Woman, who steals misbehaving children but also taught the Navajo how to weave. Hmm.

After a dicey drive along the rims of both canyons (I now have tested all the security features of my car, and they make fancy noises and blink merrily ... almost like Christmas), I retraced yesterdays's drive and made my way back to Utah and Monument Valley. I sure did miss a scenic drive in the fog and snow yesterday! However, having made my way to the site of so many John Ford westerns, I found out that the drive through the tribal park was closed due to flooding and snow, so I could only gaze over the valley from the visitor's center. Since that is the iconic view anyway, I didn't mind so much. This is the view that shaped my image of the west more than anything, thanks to watching countless westerns in my misspent youth, although it does look a little different in the snow.

As the weather was holding (we only had snow in the morning) I decided to drive on and spend the rest of the day on the road. But where to go? Today was the first day I didn't have a plan of some kind. So when I came to a fork in the road, I made my decision the way my friend NB does: I tossed a coin, which sent me towards New Mexico.

On my way there, I passed the above-mentioned Four Corners monument, which was completely devoid of people except for the lone Navajo woman who collected my entrance fee. It was extremely windy and cold there, and I almost dropped my smaller camera. Gasp.

Back on the road, I soon came to another crossroads and another decision. Straight ahead or down south? Since the quarter had done such a fine job the first time, I repeated the coin toss, and so I now find myself on the old Route 66, in Gallup, NM.

P.S. One thing I noticed while driving through the Navajo Nation lands: I have never before seen so many warning signs about drunk driving and/or drugs. And so many free-running dogs, cows, and horses that just cross the highway. Considering the number of animals that walk along (or on) the highways here, it's a wonder there's not more roadkill ...

Canyon de Chelly








Spider Rock




Mummy Cave ruins/The House Under The Rock




Monument Valley





Four Corners



Shiprock



Along the road