standin on the corner in canyon de chelly

i said goodbye to shirley and richard (after richard gave me some air for a low tire) and headed to Winslow to stand on the corner. I prepped myself by listening to the eagles the whole way there, being sure to blast 'take it easy' when that track played. the building next to park has burned down, but they preserved the wall with the mural and now they are planning to make a bigger park where the building was. 'i've been running down the road trying to loosen my load...'

afterwards i headed north to second mesa (hopi reservation), a beautiful drive of rock outcroppings, to cut across to Canyon de Chelly (shay) on navajo land. canyon de chelly is breathtaking. it is red rock canyon walls swirled out by water with lots of pueblo ruins and current navajo natives living, gardening, and raising livestock. there is only one trail leading down into the canyon - otherwise you have to hire a guide and you can horseback or take a car tour in. i of course opted for the hike.

i am not sure how long it was bc one sign said 1.5 miles down and the other said 2.5 roundtrip. it was an easy, although very uneven footing, hike down and i got very close to the white house ruins. i talked with some locals in the bottom and bought a necklace and then hiked back up. i stopped at a few other lookouts to take in different views of the canyon and the best by far was spider woman rock.

i got back on the road and headed to Hubble Trading Post National Historic Site which is a trading post that has been in operation forever. and it still looks the same and is set up the same and you can still buy navajo arts and crafts. i also got to see a navajo woman weaving a rug which was really interesting bc i had no idea how it was done.

then i headed out to gallup to couchsurf with rachel and nick. i am undecided exactly what i am going to do today bc the road i need may be a muddy.