Things you need to see in the Navajo Nation

I can have my kids read history books, or discuss current events, but seeing things in person is a whole different experience. Talking about the Bennett freeze and it's effect on the Navajo economy was quite the conversation to have when they see houses without power right in front of them. 

Traveling, though, also gives us a different lens to process luxury versus necessity, as well as consider different priorities for different families or communities. Would you trade strip malls and everything in them for a wide open landscape in their place?

Outside of Tuba City we ventured north to the Antelope Valley Slot Canyon. This is run by the Navajo Nation, and the tour was worth every mile it took to get here. 

From the surface, the slot canyon doesn't look like much.

Once you head down into the canyon it's time to pick your jaw up off of the floor and take a good look around. This was hands-down the most beautiful place I've ever been. 

This was Kevin the entire time. Looking over his pictures that night we had a huge laugh when the kids pointed out the time stamp on his photos (12:38, 12:38, 12:38, 12:38. . . ), as he was taking about ten snaps a minute. 

Our tour guide, Sheldon, was a great photographer and offered to take some family photos for us, in addition to being VERY patient with our slow amble through the canyon.

If left to our own devices we would have stayed there all day. Its smart to run hourly tours, so folks like us don't just stand there for eight hours staring up at the changing light.

From the canyon we headed out to Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon Recreation Area. We had about 15 minutes to check out these cool dinosaur tracks at the visitor center before the government shutdown took effect. 

We ended the day with a wade in the lake, which seemed better suited for boats than for swimmers, but I'm still glad the departing ranger let us walk on in to the park as he closed up shop. 

The morning that we left we said goodbye to the three stray dogs living in (or around) our RV park; if our trailer was any bigger I think that the kids would have tried to take them all with us. 

This article below isn't from the most academic of sources, but I came across it while we were there and found it to be insightful and worth discussing with my older kids. Race discussions in our family tend to be of the joking-around-about-ourselves variety (as we are a multi-racial family, and apparently I'm pink, not white), so it's good to throw in a different perspective for them now and again.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/joeflood/how-the-redskins-debate-goes-over-on-an-actual-indian-reserv?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=buzzfeed

Sunsets and Fry Bread in Tuba City and the Grand Canyon

After a full geek-out at the four corners monument we continued on our way through the lower portion of monument valley towards Tuba City. (Sadly, no giant tubas.) 

In Kayenta we checked out a Hogan, which we later saw on each of the Navajo homesteads. The kids learned that this was the traditional home center for teaching and gathering.

We originally planned on heading to Flagstaff first, but changed plans as the government shutdown was on its way. (I'm still behind on blog posts, obviously, from the slow start when we were in cell-free land and then adjusting to school on the road.) Anyway, it was late in the day and we found an RV spot, ominously named 'the end of the trail' park. 

It turned out to be a great stopping place, though, and we ended up staying there four days, using it as a base for exploring the surrounding areas. Plus, it was part of the hotel, so we could saunter in for morning coffee and the nightly fry bread. (We'd pop our buttons if we stayed here much longer, or weren't hiking everyday!)

The first morning we set out for the Grand Canyon, with the first stop at the Desert Viewpoint. It did not disappoint! As a side note, the Little Colorado Canyon along the way was quite a sight, too.

We also took a quick climb up the Watchtower but I was too eager to get going further to stop and learn anything about its history, and the interior art was certainly not authentic, so I don't feel too guilty about rushing through this one.

With just one day we opted for a long rim hike, rather than going into the crowded canyon (full of people like us getting in as much as we could before the park closed). We went to the end of the shuttle route and then hiked back in. This was a fun hike, as we had constant great views.

These are my daughter's artsy photos. 

I think the this one would be good to put up for Halloween!

While the canyon was just as beautiful as expected, I nearly lost my mind over the sunset on the drive back towards the reservation.

I always thought that living on the west coast, in a city on the bay, that we had cornered the market on beautiful sunsets. So wrong! These sunsets are probably what kept us staying in the area so long.

These photos are actually taken facing east. They are also just from my iPhone, with no filters, so I imagine a proper camera would capture it better. 

Geeking out at the Four Corners

The four corners monument was one of those places I've secretly (well, not so secretly anymore) always wanted to go to. As a kid it always sounded so cool that you could be in four states at once. However, it doesn't really seem to qualify as a full-fledged destination. Then, just as we were making travel plans for our next portion of the trip, the stars aligned and we also had cable tv that evening. An episode of Good Luck Charlie was on, and it was about a sort of misguided road trip in an RV to the four corners. 

"Hey kids, do you want to go there, too?" 

   

"Yes!"

(Cue the not-so-secret fist pump in the air as I'm super happy everyone is on board!) 

Nearly everyone, but four is a solid majority, and better than I've received in the past. 

I do tend to like silly things, and don't always get everyone as readily motivated. Waking up three kids early to go to a chicken parade (check it out if you're near Bow, WA), or convincing my husband that going to a drag queen show is a good date night, are the sort of things that usually take a lot of cheerleading or eyelash-batting to get everyone to go along. I think that our collective sense of adventure and flexibility has greatly increased on this trip, as now when someone suggests a side trip or destination it takes little to no convincing to get everyone ready to go. (See an upcoming post about a five-day detour to Tucson.)

The road into here was the bumpiest/ruttiest (not sure that's a word, but there were lots of ruts). We had a cupboard open and all of our pantry items fall out into the RV and roll around, discovered a couple hours later, but no real damage. 

Around the monument there are stalls set up with Navajo vendors selling their wares. We did our part in contributing to the economy, loading up on bracelets and one really nice vase.

Here we are hamming it up.

Our first, but not our last, fry bread. So, so, good.

We all had our own style of posing. The kids got in on mine (above), but I'm not showing Kevin's as, well, I don't want all the ladies getting too jealous of me. That cheesy goodness will go straight into the family album so that future generations can marvel at how sophisticated their ancestors were.

I was one content woman as we left and headed out through Monument Valley. Later there was a Navajo Code Talkers museum in a Burger King, so the day was a full success. What is your favorite road trip detour?