Day 17(4/17)
Zig . . .
We slept in that morning and got off to a late start. The zigzag route we had set up for ourselves required that we back track as far as Page, NM. On this visit, we did go to the Horseshoe Bend overlook about 4 miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam.
The turnoff took us to a large, rather full parking lot. The wide, well traveled path lead us the ¾ of a mile over the hill and down to the overlook. It was definitely worth the walk just to look down into that canyon again. Where the Colorado River does its 270º turn, the effects of the seven-year drought is obvious. Much of the circle is green with long strands of algae. While taking pictures from the overlook, I asked if I could help a couple of young ladies who were trying to set up a picture of themselves at the edge. I took the picture and they thanked me. As Connie and I were walking back they caught up with us. I asked where they were from – Phoenix. Then I asked about the amazing drive I hadn’t been able to share with Connie when we were leaving Scottsdale. After describing the water carved red sandstone along the route, they said that that must have been a park whose name we can’t remember. We got all excited and thanked them. One of the girls then said we should check out Antelope Valley, which was near by, if we wanted to see similar sights.
We stopped again at the Safeway in Page, but this time we just got coffee. In the parking lot we made sandwiches in our van and had a leisurely lunch before heading out toward Kayenta, halfway across Arizona. We passed the turnoff to Antelope Valley, but with such a long drive ahead, I said I didn’t want to take the time and we kept on going. Now we wish we’d stopped.
We checked into our motel in Kayenta and immediately went to explore the Navajo museum next door. On the grounds were three hogans (traditional Navajo houses) and a wagon with signs describing them and their history in great detail. We spent so much time looking at them that we ended up entering the museum just before closing time, though the young woman inside didn’t mind talking with us as long as we wanted to stay. Later, when we went to dinner in the motel dining room, we learned that it was directly related through family to the original trading post that became the town of Kayenta. The menu had dishes evolved from traditional native dishes and the women waiting on us all wore traditional Navajo clothing. We had a fry bread hors d’oeuvre, Connie got a fry bread sandwich and I had a side of black bean chili.
The long drive had given us a good idea of just how big and spread out the Navajo reservation is. We were listening to The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman and driving through the area where the story takes place. Tomorrow, we would see Monument Valley and Shiprock on our way to Mesa Verde.