HIKING THE ‘WHITEHOUSE RUINS’ TRAIL AT CANYON DE CHELLY

REST STOP FOR A LUNCH BREAK WHILE ON OUR WAY TO THE TOP OF THE CANYON RIM IN THE DISTANCE

How nice it was once again to see that big old sun creeping up over the horizon & beaming through the Cottonwood trees.  Nights are still down around freezing here but daytime temps are perfect for hiking.

Poured over some more travel plans this morning again.  Had hoped to do Monument Valley but will probably save that for another trip when the weather is warmer & we can combine it with some time in the 4 corners area of Colorado, Utah, Arizona & New Mexico.  Would like to do that trip in the early fall sometime.  We have switched our ‘going home’ priority to simply a ‘warmer weather’ priority so will head in a southeasterly direction Thursday seeking out a warmer pocket of air maybe in New Mexico or Texas.  No need for us to hurry home.  I just get a little ‘antsy’ sometimes traveling long distances between points A & B.  Just like to get out there & ‘git er done:))

SECTIONS OF THE TRAIL CAN BE SEEN WINDING DOWN TO THE CANYON FLOOR….WE ARE HEADED FOR THE TOP LEFT OF THE PHOTO & TURNING RIGHT

It was the ‘no wind’ factor this morning that put the icing on the cake for a beautiful sunny clear day.  Out the door & off we went to the Canyon’s South rim & a place called the Whitehouse Ruins Overlook.  No, nothing to do with the Whitehouse in Washington!!  It is here where the 3 mile round trip begins & it’s approximately a 600' descent to the Canyon’s floor.

 

WE ARE ABOUT HALF WAY DOWN

Right from the beginning one is awed by the sweeping scenic views of the Canyon.  The words, marvelous & spectacular come to mind.  Yes, even awesome:))  We quickly realized this trail will now go into our travel books as the most breathtaking scenic trail we have ever been on.

 

The trail winds it’s way to the bottom using switchbacks.  Steps have been cut out of solid rock in places while other sections contain loose gravely stones & sand.   Parts of the trail lead over the very rock that forms the Canyon’s walls.  By hiking standards it is an easy trail with no hand over hand rock scrambling involved.  If height bothers you it might be advisable to bring a blindfold as you navigate some of the narrower sections along the cliff face. But, you don’t really want to do that & miss all the incredible beauty every foot of the way.  This is a trail to be done slowly because there is just sooooo much to see as you descend.

 

We started the hike at 9:40 a.m. & set foot on the Canyon floor at 10:40.  A nice leisurely walk of 40 minutes with lots of photo stops along the way.  Now, instead of looking down into the Canyon we were now at the bottom looking up at the massive & towering rock cliffs all around.  Have I used the word magnificent yet.

TRAIL IS CUT ACROSS THE STONE FACE IN CENTER OF THE PHOTO 

It was a short walk across the valley floor to a foot bridge crossing a small flowing stream.  We could only imagine how beautiful it is here when the many Cottonwood trees are dressed in their summer coats of green.   Horses leisurely crazed under the trees amid cactus, cholla & Juniper trees.  We could see the distant Whitehouse ruins nestled into the cliff face just on the other side of the Cottonwood trees.  The Navajo people were here too with their tables of many Indian crafts.  Some were working on their art pieces as we walked by on our way to look at the fenced off ruins.

 

COMING & GOING PAST THE NAVAJO VENDOR’S TABLES

The Whitehouse Ruins are similar to what we saw at the GILA CLIFF DWELLINGS in New Mexico a couple years ago except that these Whitehouse Ruins were a bit more intact.  Again, just Google Canyon de Chelly for all the historical info on this very historical Navajo land.  Tragedies in this Canyon date back many years to the day Spaniards arrived & killed many of the ancient people living here.  It happened again in the late 1800’s when U.S. Cavalry soldiers entered the land & killed many of the Navajo natives who called this Canyon their home.

THE WHITEHOUSE RUINS AS SEEN FROM GROUND LEVEL

THE WHITEHOUSE RUINS AS SEEN FROM A HIGHER VIEW POINT OVERLOOK WITH A TELEPHOTO LENS

Made our way back through the Native Craftspeople, crossed the stream & at 11 a.m. & began our daunting 600 foot climb back up & out of the Canyon.  We had dressed warm in the cooler morning air coming down but it wasn’t long & we had peeled off jackets & shirts heading up.  Our first stop along the way was at a wooden bench under a Juniper Tree.  Out came the Turkey sandwiches & bottled water.

I once again marveled at our great & good fortune to be here where we were, doing what we wanted to do at a time in our lives we are still able to do it.  Sitting on that bench surrounded by indescribable beauty made me wonder aloud where we would be a year from this day at this same moment of time.  Sometimes, it’s just not best to wonder aloud.

 

WE BEGIN OUR LONG HIKE TO THE TOP

It was onwards & upwards as we put one foot in front of the other & concentrated on the climb ahead.  With a few more break stops along the way & a few seconds here & there for photos we steadily closed in on the high rim of the Canyon.  And then there it was, the final few yards to the top.  It was 11:50 a.m & our ascent had taken us 50 minutes, which surprisingly was only 10 minutes longer than our descent.  We both felt it was an easier climb than we had both anticipated & was not as strenuous as some of our other hikes in the past. 

 

A LOT OF HARD EFFORT HAS GONE INTO MAKING THESE TRAILS

Canyon de Chelly is a long but narrow Canyon.  Not as long, deep or wide as the Grand Canyon but just as stunning in it’s own beautiful uniqueness.  This is a Canyon where the ordinary person can hike to the bottom & hike themselves back out again in a matter of hours.  For anyone traveling in Northeastern Arizona do not miss Canyon de Chelly.  It will not disappoint you.

AT LAST……. WE NEAR THE TOP

We were back at the rig shortly after noon & just cruised through the rest of the afternoon.  Had to reset up the tripod a couple times in the last couple days because my duct tape fix continued to become weaker with each puff of wind.  Finally, it was beyond setting up anymore so I had to revert to option number 2.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( 

A tutor who tooted a flute,
Tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor,
"Is it harder to toot, or
To tutor two tooters to toot?"

--------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

 
BISBEE PHOTO ALBUM
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/BISBEEARIZONAAFEWFINEPHOTOMEMORIES
 
Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
 
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
 
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

Technorati Tags: Whitehouse Ruins,Canyon de Chelley

OUR FIRST LOOK AT CANYON DE CHELLY

The sound of sleet has a sharper sound on the rig’s roof than rain does & it was a sleeting sound I heard off & on during the night.  At first light I could see patches of white ground outside.  We had got ourselves some snow.

It felt sooooo good to see the sun rising through the trees of the campground.  Shafts of light beamed through our windshield lifting our spirits & immediately began a warming process in the rig.  The temps outside were totally freezing & made worse by a stiff breeze.  But, no matter, we could see sunshine & that was good enough to motivate us out the door by 9 & into the Jeep.  We headed off on the North rim drive of the CANYON DE CHELLY NATIONAL PARK.  A canyon that after being here for a few days we hadn’t even seen yet.

Noticed there was an increasing amount of snow on the ground as we gained altitude to our first stop, Antelope House Ruins.  I won’t give you the histories of the stops we made because all that can be found on line if anyone is interested.  What I will give you are my thoughts, feelings & some photos of the Canyon.

KELLY STOPS TO CHAT WITH A COUPLE ALONG ONE OF THE WALKWAYS

It was brutally cold & windy as we stepped out of the Jeep & headed for the Canyon rim.  Even if there wasn’t a Canyon here, the landscape was a work of art all on it’s own.  Mother Nature’s wintery hand had touched the shrubs & rocks with skiffs of snow.  A blue sky laced with white puffy clouds had turned the land into a picture post card photographer’s dream.

My first gaze into the Canyon was like no other because I realized right away this Canyon was like no other I had seen before.  The height from the edge of the accessible rocky ledge to the Canyon floor far below was dizzying.  Cows looked like ants.  The colors & morning hues were overwhelming as the sun cast slow moving cloud shadows across the greening valley floor.  Towering sandstone cliffs caught the sun’s rays to bathe themselves in unending colors.  Never had I seen a place like this before.

Our time at the rim was marred only by the biting cold winds which seemed to go right through us.  Had forgot my mitts, winter hat & had not thought to wear my lined winter pants.  Kelly’s nose was running & my fingers were froze with each photo I took.  Would have loved to stay there & relish in the beauty & history before us but we had no choice but to retreat to the warmth of the Jeep’s heater.

If I were to describe every stop we made along that north rim this morning & try to describe what we saw I would be sitting here at the keyboard all night.  I can tell you that we we spent a couple hours seeing everything we could before returning to the rig for a break.

An hour later we were back into the Jeep again & off to do the South rim of Canyon De Chelly.  We made the last stop at the end of the road, our first stop.  This is where I finally got to see…..Spider Rock.  When you think of Canyon De Chelly you probably think of Spider Rock because it is the most identified & photographed feature here in the Park & with today’s lighting conditions it was looking especially beautiful.

THE TALL SPIRES OF SPIDER ROCK ARE IN THE CENTER

We stopped into all the other overlooks on the way back to the rig including the White House Ruins location.  We will return there in the morning & descend a mile & a half into the Canyon itself.  It is the only place where people are allowed to hike in Canyon De Chelly. 

Now, I have two problems tonight.  I have completely overwhelmed myself with 264 photos today & have not yet begun to edit them.  Second, our internet connection is very poor & Monday night’s blog took 73 minutes to Publish.  If I load this post up with photos I could be here for days waiting for it to publish.  So, I will add a few pics & go with that.  Again, when we get home with a proper high speed connection I will put together a complete photo album on Canyon De Chelly. 

      

Since going with a Verizon Air Card a couple years ago I think this is only the second time we’ve been in a dead zone for coverage. 

Like most other RV’ers out here I grew up in the late 40’s & early 50’s listening to radio in the days before television.  We had a big old floor model & a couple counter top ones & I have many memories of endless hours listening to those great old radio shows.   For anyone out here with an interest in those old radios, check out ERIK'S RV BLOG for a trip down Memory Lane:))

THIS FELLOW ASKED KELLY TO TAKE A PICTURE OF HIM AT ONE OF THE OUTLOOKS

GROANER’S CORNER:((   You might be a redneck if your Jeep Pickup truck has a new sunroof because the shotgun fell off the rack when you slammed the door.

--------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

 
BISBEE PHOTO ALBUM
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/BISBEEARIZONAAFEWFINEPHOTOMEMORIES
 
Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
 
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
 
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

TODAY’S WINDSTORM GOES INTO OUR BOOKS AS…..THE WORST WINDS EVER!!

INDIAN HORSES CROSSING A HILL BEHIND OUR RIG

Sunday’s winds subsided enough in the night to allow us some sleep but at first light they picked up again dropping the temperatures.  Cloudy with a few sunny breaks & we had to dress warmly to ward off the chilly winds.  Local weather advisory was out for 50 mph winds this afternoon & little did we know they were bearing down on us like a speeding freight train at that very moment.

3 DOGS HARASSING THE HORSES

Figured we would drive into the little town of Chinle which is just outside the campground, grab a bite to eat, get a few groceries & hit the canyon’s north side driving tour.  We did grab a bite but we never did make it to the grocery store.

 

THUNDERBIRD LODGE WHERE WE ARE GETTING OUR WIFI SIGNAL  

While eating we were suddenly hit with huge wind gusts turning the view outside into an instant brown sand storm.  We see these kinds of things in winter back home & call them white outs due to blowing snow.  Without further ado we quickly headed for the Jeep & raced back to the campsite expecting to see our satellite dish on the ground & both slide awnings torn to bits.

RACING BACK TO THE RIG TO GET THE SLIDES IN

The tiny awning was billowing like I’ve never seen it before.  We got out of the Jeep OK but when I opened rig’s door the wind caught it throwing me backwards into Kelly behind me who was hanging on to her cup of coffee.  Lid flew off the cup spraying coffee all over Kelly.  Managed to hang onto the door long enough while she squeezed inside, raced back to the bedroom, hit the switch & retracted the slide before the awning ripped off.  I remained outside for a minute before trying to get myself in.  Took me 2 tries to get & hold the door open long enough to duck inside.  I knew if the wind blew the door out of my hands it would dash it against the side of the rig & smash the glass out of it.

 

STRUGGLING AGAINST THE WIND TO GET THE LMB OFF THE DISH…WIND GUSTS WERE TOO BAD TO GET THE DISH OFF THE TRIPOD

I have blogged about bad winds many times before & we have been in some very nasty ones but this wind today goes into our books as the worst wind we have ever experienced.  Anybody caught out on the highway today with an RV is going to be in some very major trouble.  We are so fortunate to have got in here & set up at this campground when we did yesterday.  We hear Flagstaff was hit hard today & we had just past through there Saturday afternoon.  We sure dodged a nasty weather bullet there.  They had blowing winds & driving snow. 

The campground we are in sits below a bluff & is a bit protected area but if it’s this bad here it must be a total nightmare for people on the road.  I just have a feeling there is going to be plenty of wind damage when this finally lets up.  Our Motor Home has never rocked side to side this bad before.  At one point I did manage to get outside & take the electronic part of the satellite dish off but about 5 minutes later the wind gusts had twisted the tripod legs bending the dish down at an awkward angle.  Twenty minutes later another wind gust totally flattened the dish snapping off one of the tripod legs completely.  That’s the end of our Canadian Star Choice satellite TV for this trip:((  Am I complaining about all this?  Nope, just stating the facts.  I would sooner be right here in the  middle of a big darn old dusty wind storm any day as opposed to sitting at home during a big old miserable snow storm!!  And, would you believe that due to the high winds & blowing sand plus a small opening in our poor fitting kitchen window we now have sand dunes on our kitchen counter top!!

THIS COLORFUL RIGGED ROLLED INTO THE CAMPSITE AFTER THE WINDS DIED DOWN

I remember a saying from the old wild west gunfighter days that went something like, ‘no matter how fast you think you are, there is always somebody faster!!’  Same thing applies to bad days.  No matter how bad your day is or was there is probably someone somewhere who has had a more badder one.  (ya ya I know about the grammar) Thought we had a bad one a couple days ago until I read SASSY'S ON DA ROAD.  And then, if Sassy’s day wasn’t bad enough, I read Malone’s post at THE MOHO & OTHER TRAVELING TALES.  The post is entitled….’Vandalized!!’

ANOTHER GERMAN VEHICLE PULLS IN

We pretty much remained trapped in the rig for the entire day.  Kelly read for awhile & I sat here with the computer on my lap dozing off about 6 dozen times only to be awakened by the severe rocking of the wind battered coach every few minutes.

I wrote the above paragraphs this afternoon while the wind was beating us up.  It is now after supper, much colder, raining a bit & the wind has diminished.  I brought the broken tripod in as soon as it did & with a couple sticks for splints & about 6.4 miles of duct tape kind of made a shaky repair on the leg. 

Took it outside & set it all up again & surprisingly enough we have TV tonight.  If it remains up for the night that will be a bonus & if my repair lasts any longer than that it will be a complete miracle.  And if it lasts a week that will be impossible!!  Actually the leg only has to last us a few days longer while we are here at Canyon de Chelly (d’ Shay) because once we hit the road for home we will not be in any one place long enough to ever set it up again.  This is the last planned stop of our trip this winter.  No idea how long we will be here but it will be pedal to the metal once we leave Canyon de Chelly for home.

I KNOW IT ISN’T TOO PRETTY BUT AT LEAST WE GOT TV TONIGHT & I’LL BE ABLE TO WATCH ‘CORNER GAS:))’

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A duck walks into a pharmacy, and asks for Chapstick. The cashier says, "Cash or check?" and the duck says, "Just put it on my bill."