Sunday, August 24-Visiting Sovereign Nations

Sunday morning, our travelers first returned to the Movie Set Museum. The owner had suggested we return in the daylight when we first met him the night before.

The “museum” part of the Trading Post is out back and is a rather eclectic combination of actual movie-related buildings and props and old-time items. It seems that some of those old-time props have also been later used in movies!

The principal items to be viewed were from the Clint Eastwood film, The Outlaw Josey Wales. There are several others, too, but some of the more recent structures were for a Kenny Loggins music video and then a recent film now called The Attic Door (we hadn't heard of it).

We left (and yes, to those keeping track, we do tend to jump back and forth between first and third person! Thanks heavens we aren't being graded for this; and no college students will be plagiarizing if they want a good grade!) Kanab and headed back into Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. We crossed the border at Page, Arizona. This town is at the southern end of Lake Powell/Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

The rest of the day was spent driving across Native American territory. Of course, the largest reservation in the Four Corners area is that of the Navajo Nation. We followed Highway 89 south and turned east toward Tuba City. From there we drove Hwy. 264 across the Hopi Indian Reservation, turned north on 191 and ended up at Chinle, Arizona for the night. More about that later.

We discovered that Tuba City is on the north side of the highway, and a community called Moenkopi is on the south side. Tuba City is Navajo and the south side is Hopi. There is a large truck stop at the corner where we turned. Because we were looking for information about upcoming possible campsites, we stopped in.

While checking out the variety of businesses (the whole establishment is larger than Shannon's Petro 2; it has the truck stop, a fast-food restaurant, and three small craft shops), we began talking to the owner of one of the small shops. His name is James Surveyer and he shared much history and lore with us about the Hopi and the Navajo. He is a member of the Hopi tribe.

Contrary to some tribes that allow members who have smaller amounts of the tribe's “blood”, the Hopi only allow tribal members if they are full-blood or half-blood. Despite the fact that James is a business owner, he said the Navajo are more entrepreneurial and the Hopi place more importance in their relationship with the land and maintaining that important link.
We enjoyed our conversation with James and wish him well with his shop. We also ended up purchasing several items from him!

There were not really any campgrounds on the rest of our route. Even the campground at Canyon de Chelly at Chinle didn't have electricity for our C-Paps. We decided to splurge and stay there at Canyon de Chelly (a National Monument) at the Thunderbird Lodge.

They sell Tony Hillerman audiobooks and also some used books and tapes in the lobby of the office there. We purchased a used tape of Hillerman's Hunting Badger to listen to the next few days while we were in “Hillerman Country”. Anyone who reads Hillerman's books has probably already recognized the Tuba City references. It has been fun listening to this while we drive; we've gone through other oft-mentioned communities like Chinle, Window Rock, and Gallup. It's fun to picture the action better after driving through Utah and Arizona for the last week.

When we approached Chinle, there were bright lights shining in the sky. We discovered that it was the Central Navajo Fair, including an annual rodeo, carnival, and traditional dances. After checking in to the Lodge, we returned to attend the Fair. Unfortunately, it was just ending. We walked around and watched the carnival folk begin tearing down their booths and that was interesting. One vendor was also having a sale on left-over corn dogs, so Chris bought one.

Tomorrow's plans are to tour the Canyon somehow. Then we will begin a leisurely drive toward Roswell, New Mexico, before returning to Kansas.

The End...

Saturday, August 23, 2008, To Zion

On the way to Zion National Park we passed through Virgin, Utah. There are two tourist traps in this wide spot in the road. We were trapped by the one with the whimsical western town out front called "The Virgin Trading Post".

Inside was a mixture of quality and junk goods. Chris was attracted to their extensive line of hot sauces with funny names like “Colon Cleaner”.

Kathy by the Indian crafts and t-shirts. When looking at Indian crafts Kathy is thinking of a present for Shawn, who thinks he may have Cherokee blood. Unfortunately, despite the Trail of Tears, Kathy's problem is that North Carolina is the best place for Cherokee crafts. In fact, the Indian “junk” labeled Cherokee (and this particular stuff is junk) is made in North Carolina. The good Indian stuff worthy to be called “craft” is Navajo or Hopi.

One t-shirt we have seen in several different forms has a photo of either a line of mounted Plains Indian warriors (probably from the movies) or real Apache warriors standing with rifles at the ready. Below the picture are the words, “Homeland security - Fighting terrorism since 1492.” Chris preferred the t-shirt with a picture of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel God with extended finger. Above him a word bubble says, “Pull my finger.” Below is the label, “The Big Bang Theory of the Universe.” Austin would think this t-shirt is hilarious if he knew what the Big Bang Theory of the Universe is.

As Kathy and I were walking to our van with 2 bags of rock candy and a bottle of “Hot Sauce for Sissies” we overheard one newly arrived tourist say to his party, “A Virgin Trading Post, maybe we can swap Charlie for something useful.”

Zion National Park is another canyon park. It is a very crowded park, possibly because it is the furthest west national park in Utah. The hoards of California tourists driving to the Colorado Plateau hit this park first, then Bryce Canyon. Unfortunately, Zion is small. Visitors are required to ride propane-powered shuttle buses into the canyon. The buses stop at numerous bus stops through out the canyon.

During his 2000 trip to the Colorado Plateau Chris had seen a photograph of the bottom of a slot canyon. The slot canyon was about 6 feet wide or less and the striped sandstone walls were very smooth. Chris thought the picture was taken in Zion. Chris wanted to see this canyon. Chris asked at the visitor center were this canyon might be. He was directed to get off the bus at Weeping Rock and hike the Observation Trail to Echo Canyon.

Kathy and Chris got off the bus at Weeping Rock. Together they walked a steep incline to Weeping Rock. The top of the canyon is sandstone which is very porous. Rain on the land above seeps down through the sandstone until it reaches a layer of non-porous shale a couple of hundred feet above the bottom of the canyon floor.. Since the water can not penetrate the shale it leaks out pouring down the canyon walls. Ferns and other plants requiring lots of water establish themselves in the cracks and crevices on the canyon walls, creating a hanging garden. (YouTube video)

Chris left Kathy at the Weeping Rock hanging garden for his trudge up to Echo Canyon 700 to 1,000 feet above. And a trudge it was. The path was very steep, switched back and forth at least a dozen times. Eventually, Chris rested every 30 to 40 steps.

Chris had lots of resting time to mull over his goal of walking to Echo Canyon. Since he wanted to go to the bottom of Echo Canyon, he assumed that when he reach the top of this ridge, he would have to walk just about as far down into the next canyon and, then to return, walk back up. He began to worry that he might run out of insulin in his body (as a diabetic his body no longer makes insulin) and so he would be stuck on the other side of the ridge unable to burn his body fat to get back. So he began thinking that he should turn around at the top of the ridge.

Fortunately, at the top of the ridge, the path was level. Instead of the path dropping to the floor of Echo Canyon, the floor rises up to the path. After walking 100 yards, Chris met a couple walking back. They told Chris that the canyon floor was about 5 minutes ahead. After another 100 yards, Chris could see the canyon floor 100 feet below was the sandstone pattern he wanted to see, but could he get down? Then he heard the voices of ,and saw, three French hikers down there on the canyon floor. In another 100 yards he found an easily traversed slope that lead to the bottom of the canyon. Chris had reached his goal and took pictures.

The hike back was much easier and faster.

Chris saw a cute little snake and a lightening-fast neon blue tailed lizard.

A deer browsing flowers on the hillside dislodged a rock that Chris had to dodge.

When I meet Kathy again, she related her adventures waiting for me. She had found a comfortable spot to read by the stream (well, actually on a rock IN the stream. Her feet in the stream kept things much cooler!) Unfortunately, she was constantly terrorized by some vicious flies. She also asked a young . couple whether they had seen her husband. They confessed that when they had spoken to him he was almost to his goal and was probably by now on his way back.

When Chris and Kathy got back to the car, we drove out the other side of Zion through a mile long tunnel. On the shuttle bus back to the visitor's center, the tourist in front of us told us that big horned sheep were on the other side of the tunnel. So we looked for these sheep. Sure enough we saw one standing on a ridge overlooking the highway. The location and pose was so perfect, that Kathy and Chris wondered aloud whether this was a real, live sheep or a stuffed sheep stuck up there for the tourists. Chris was very tempted to turn around an go back to see whether the sheep was still there in that same spot and pose.

But we drove onto Kanab, Utah (Kuh-nab') for the night. We discovered several things upon arriving at Kanab. A festival of “Western Legends” had just ended that day. The town was full of visitors. We got the last available spot in the Good Sam RV park because someone else had just cancelled.

As we walked about town we discovered through signs that Kanab was a center for shooting western movies and television shows. After eating in a great restaurant called the Rocking V (Reviews) we went over to the free movie set museum and trading post. Like the Virgin trading post, this store had a mixture of good crafts and tourist junk. Since it was dark, we put off viewing the movie set until the next morning.