Jeep Touring in Canyon Country

FOURWHEELING HISTORIC CANYON DE CHELLY

CANYON DE CHELLY

The speedometer needle pointed to eight miles per hour, sometimes dipping to five. It was Saturday, and we were fourwheeling the watery arroyos and rutted roadways of the beautiful and wild terrain near Chinle on the Navajo Indian Reservation in the far northeastern part of the state.

Our caravan consisted of 55 Jeeps from nine states divided into groups of five, each one with a guide. Destination: Canyon de Chelly (pronounced "shay").

The organizer of our weekend adventure, Georgetown, California-based Jeep Jamboree USA, ranks its Canyon de Chelly trip a two to four in difficulty; one meaning highway-smooth and 10 so rugged the terrain is virtually impassable, even for a Jeep. We were warned, however, that the rating could jump to eight if it rained hard, causing the stream running through the canyon to flow dangerously high and fast.

It stormed the Thursday before we arrived. A deluge came down again Friday, and it was still drizzling that evening when we checked into our motel in Chinle. Saturday dawned clear and sunny, but because of the heavy rainfall, we found ourselves fording streams with water up to the floorboards.

Oh, and did I mention quicksand? Quicksand lurks in the canyon streambeds, and nobody seemed to know exactly where. Scary.

Leon Skyhorse Thomas, our half-Navajo and half-Sioux guide, told of cars disappearing into the quagmire without warning. He said a friend, honored as Guide of the Year in an elaborate ceremony, watched the very next day as a car under his guidance sank beneath the sand. "It's safe to say there are 15 vehicles that have gone down in these canyons," Thomas said.

As if on cue, a Jeep up ahead stalled and started to settle. Alert drivers nearby stopped, tossed over snatch straps, and managed to pull the trapped car free. Our guide was unimpressed: "Don't ever stop your vehicle in the water," he scolded.

Drivers joining a Jeep Jamboree usually arrive prepared for trouble. They equip their four-wheel-drive vehicles with tow hooks, tow straps, extra gas tanks, and winches. Ready, they hope, to handle anything and get on with having a good time.

On our trip into Canyon de Chelly, Thomas rode ahead in a vintage World War II "flat fender." Using a walkie-talkie, he explained to us about the cliff dwellings and the cliff writings high above us.

"The Anasazi built their homes on the north side of the wall up high but they planted down below," he said. "That way they were away from the flash floods, and they were safe from any enemies." The Anasazi, who occupied these canyons from about A.D. 348 to 1300, grew corn, beans, squash, and cotton, while bartering with other tribes for feathers, shells, and turquoise. Archaeologists believe the Anasazi were the ancestors of today's Zuni, Hopi, and Acoma Indians, he added.

Thomas belongs to the Tsegi Guide Association, which means he knows the rocks, ruins, and relics of Canyon de Chelly intimately. "I grew up playing in these ruins. Of course that was before I knew any better," he said, acknowledging that over the years he had learned to appreciate the need to protect the ruins.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is shaped roughly like the letter V, with Canyon del Muerto (Canyon of the Dead) on the north and Canyon de Chelly on the south. Cliffs towering as high as a thousand feet border the two canyons, about 18 and 27 miles long, respectively.

Thomas observed that the Anasazi villages could be reached only by lashed-together ladders and torturous climbing using toeholds. This fact seemed to amuse him. "Can you imagine the wife telling the husband, 'Go down and get me a cup of water'?" he inquired.

Thomas helped us understand what the rock writers wrote. Under his tutelage we saw deer, snakes, lizards, birds, turkeys, star clusters, and handprints, as well as shapes like a reverse swastika, circles, zigzags, and what are best described as squiggles. Thomas admitted, though, "A lot of these petroglyphs I don't even try to interpret."

At one ruin, while watching red-tailed hawks soar beneath the azure skies, we asked Thomas about the people who live in the canyons today. He said some 50 Navajo

CANYON DE CHELLY

families reside there in hogans, half hidden by stately willow and cottonwood trees, cultivating corn and beans, harvesting peaches, and herding sheep. Most stay in the canyons only during summer and leave as winter approaches. A Navajo woman selling jewelry at the base of Antelope House in Canyon del Muerto, where we lunched, later told me, "Oh, I couldn't live down here all the time: no TV, no electricity."

The Navajos value their privacy and do (LEFT) Navajos living in the canyon herd sheep and cultivate vegetables and fruit. (BELOW) David Bailey, one of the caravan's Navajo guides, talks about some of the many petroglyphs found in the canyon. (BOTTOM) Katie Melloy came with her parents from Farmington, New Mexico, to explore Canyon de Chelly.

(RIGHT) The Walden family, also from Farmington, fords some deep water.

Not like being photographed without their permission. "Some of these people are bitter that strangers come into their homes all the time," Thomas said.

Each year some 760,000-plus people visit Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Many of them explore the canyons hiking the trails on foot; others buy tickets to tour in what the locals call "shake and bake" trucks, so named because the huge panel-side vehicles give passengers a good jostling on the rough roads and do not provide shade from the hot summer sun.

Individuals are not permitted to drive through the canyons on their own. So taking our four-wheel-drive vehicles on a guided tour was a real treat. We were able to penetrate both canyons and with the help of our knowledgeable guides to interact with people who share our reverence for Nature, history, and the Navajo way of life. Unfortunately the time allotted for exploring the canyons ran out all too soon. As the afternoon shadows lengthened, we retraced the bumpy, winding roads back toward the entrance.

That's when we ran into a surprise. Following the stream as it twisted and turned between the narrow canyon walls, we suddenly saw our view open up ahead. We came upon a group of children frolicking in the stream, young Navajo mothers wading the shallow waters, and teenage boys galloping bareback across an exposed spit, their ponies splashing all who ventured close.

At the sight, the caravan slowed. Our drivers worried they were intruding upon a private festivity and felt unsure how to proceed.

Then the young people smiled. Waved. Soon we, too, were waving and laughing and joining in the fun. What a joyous conclusion to our first Jeep Jamboree in Canyon de Chelly National Monument.

Author's Note: Jeep Jamboree USA operates 20 trips annually to various locations, with the organizers stressing safety and respect for the environment. Arizona's only Jeep Jamboree is held in June. For information, call toll-free (800) 925-JEEP.

For more information on Canyon de Chelly National Monument, write or call P.O. Box 588, Chinle, AZ 86503; (520) 674-5500. The park is open every day of the year, except Christmas, May to September, 8 A.M. to 6 P.M., and October to April, 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. The Navajo Indian Reservation observes daylight-saving time from April to October, so it is an hour later there. Admission is free, but tours of the canyons must be arranged and accompanied by park rangers (advance reservations are recommended) or private, licensed guides.

Photo Workshop: Join photographer Jerry Sieve and the Friends of Arizona Highways, the magazine's support auxiliary, on a Photo Workshop trek into Canyon de Chelly, October 2 to 5. The trip, led by a Navajo guide, offers the opportunity to explore the magnificent canyon in a way that few experience it. Added to that is the chance to pick up photography tips from an expert. Jerry Sieve's images appear regularly in the magazine. For more information, call the Friends' Travel Office, (602) 271-5904.