The Road Trip Continues -Canyon de Chelly


It was a warm (well hot!) windy afternoon and we both wanted to visit at least part of Canyon de Chelly.  Having visited this site many years ago, it was such fun to see it again.  Next time I really want to take the jeep tour to the bottom!  https://www.nps.gov/cach/index.htm

The cholla (one of my favorite desert plants) were blooming.  I think they have some of the prettiest blooms and some of the most dangerous stickers!   It's so easy to step on a piece that has come off the mother plant and so difficult to pull out the stickers.  

Beautiful Cholla

Standing in the hot wind thinking about the early inhabitants caused me to compare their lives with ours today.  The scenery is beautiful and harsh  and peaceful.  Wonderful to see but I don't want to work that hard.  At the bottom of the canyon the trees were green and you can see where the people lived 5000 years ago.  Navajos live there today and I could see their trucks and homes from the rim.


Cliff Dwellings
The swirling patterns on the large rocks were mesmerizing.  Fun to see so many large formations that  are unique to the canyon.



Zooming in on a swirling formation!
 


A long way down!
Canyon de Chelly - a magical place to visit!
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Location: Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Chinle, AZ, USA

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