Wednesday, November 2, 2011 (Canyon de Chelly National Monument Park, Chinle, AZ)

As I got out of bed this morning, Steve said..."watch the mousetraps"...oh, right, better turn on the light when I go out there.  Well, we had been successful...no more Mickey...thank goodness!  There was no way I was touching it...I didn’t even want to look at it...so I carefully avoided it as I put on the coffee.  I’ll let Steve deal with it when he gets up!

We had another absolutely amazing day, in our amazing lifestyle, enjoying more amazing sights!   We headed out at 10:30 and decided to drive the North Rim Road first.  It was a beautiful sunny day...but cold and windy!

Our first stop was at Antelope House Overlook...this ruin is named for the illustrations of antelope attributed to Navajo artist Dibe Yazhi (Little Sheep) who lived here in the early 1800s.

Brrrr...it's cold out here!

The Ruins...

Our next stop was Mummy Cave Overlook--the ruin, one of the largest ancestral Puebloan villages in Canyon de Chelly, was occupied to about 1300.

See the caves on the cliffside...

A close-up of the Ruins...

We carried onto Massacre Cave Overlook...where this interesting truck was parked.  Steve later talked to the owners who are from Sweden, bought the truck in Germany, had it shipped to Halifax (at a cost of $3000) and plan on going down to South America...

Massacre Cave refers to the Navajo killed here in the winter of 1805 by a Spanish military expedition.  About 115 Navajo took shelter on the ledge above the canyon floor.  After being discovered, shots fired from the rim killed all people on the ledge.

That was it for the North Rim...but before checking out all of the lookouts on the South Rim, we stopped at the Visitors Centre (unfortunately, there were no restrooms at any of the Overlooks).   It sure was cold out, especially with the wind...but at least it was sunny!

There are seven lookouts along the South Rim, so we thought we would drive out to the very last one and work our way back.  Spider Rock Overlook was at the end.  Spider Rock is an 800 foot sandstone spire the rises from the canyon floor at the junction of Canyon de Chelly and Monument Canyon.

Face Rock Overlook...

Sliding House Overlook...

White House Overlook--the ruin was built by ancestral Puebloan people and occupied about 1000 years ago.  It is  named for the long wall in the upper dwelling that is covered with white plaster. This is the only place in the park where people can take a 2 1/2 mile hike down to the bottom of the canyon without requiring a guide.

 

Junction Overlook has views of Chinle Valley and the confluence of Canyon del Muerto and Canyon de Chelly...

Ruins on the cliffside...

Tsegi Overlook provides views of Navajo farmlands on the canyon floor...the Navajo still farm this area...

And lastly....Tunnel Overlook...

We had had a full day and were ready to head back to the trailer.  The trees are just beautiful in and around the campground...

Ahhh...time for a little sunshine before heading inside for the evening...

If you are interested in seeing more pictures of our day at Canyon de Chelly, click on the following link to view the web album...Canyon de Chelly, Arizona