Smitten!

I am in love...with Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de-shay).  This has to be the best place we've been to yet.

One morning at the beginning of our journey, I heard a young local man say that we had to see Canyon de Chelly.  It was the most wonderful place, he said.  And with some wonder in his voice, he explained that it 'made you feel so small'.

I can tell you that it does do that.  The rocks that we drove under , through and beside were huge.  They went straight up from the canyon floor.

It's not all huge rocks, though.  Nature, beauty and hard work come together on this Rocky Mountain  Bee-balm. I think this might be representative of the people who live and work here.

There is so much variety here.  Huge rock formations, desert, green trees and sweet flowers.There are Navajo families living here amid this grandeur, growing corn, squash and beans much as their ancestors had done. They raise horses and cattle under these cliffs. 

This is part of the roadway that we drove along.  The overhang was very low and our truck was very big.  Not the biggest but still pretty big.  Private vehicles are not allowed in the canyon.  Nor are you allowed to hike or ride horses without a guide.  But I think those would be excellent ways to experience this beautiful canyon land.

One of the canyon dwellers: a Western Whiptail lizard.   We have seen a lot of lizards this trip - as you would imagine in this climate.  This fellow is one of the best.

The solidity of this rock wall soars up and up to that glorious blue sky.  It's so hard to capture the colors and sense of proportion. How could any people not be in awe of this?

But maybe this shot will help.  We are now standing on the south rim high above where we have been earlier in the day.  When I turned the corner on the lookout path, my jaw did really drop.  In the center are two enormous spires of rock - Spider Rock.  To the left of these two towers, you can see a thin trail which had two vehicles on it which gives you an idea of the scale.  What looks like a path down the middle is really an almost dry riverbed.  There was rain three or four days ago.

If I had seen nothing else this trip,  it would still have been worthwhile. But I did see so much more.  With another day to come.  Hard to believe that it's almost over.