The Camp
For our anniversary, my wife and I took a Navajo-led trip into some back country in the Navajo Nation on the Colorado Plateau. It was just us and our guides.
We drove and toured in a 4 wheel drive truck for about 4 hours on an old 1940’s uranium mining road to get to our campsite. It’s generous to call it a road. Most of the way there was no road at all, having washed away decades ago. Our Navajo guide, Shaye Holiday, scrambled us up steep boulders, slid us down stomach-churning sand dunes, crept along harrowing ledges, slid through bright red mud and scaled bony sandstone staircases. At times he had to get out of the truck and scout the path to see if we could even make it, since it had stormed here two days prior; often I was convinced we wouldn’t make it but we always did. At one point we all got out and did a little road building by piling rocks into crevices that were too deep for the truck. It would have been a scary trip, but it was clear that Shaye knew what he was doing and where he was going. Ok, it was still a little scary. During the drive we talked about Navajo culture and our personal lives and fell into an easy camaraderie. The conversation was thoughtful and interesting.
Eventually we arrived at this rocky ledge near the top of the mesa, overlooking the entire Monument Valley. Shaye built a fire, set up a couple of chairs, pitched a tent for Steph and me and one for himself and his wife Nizhoni and proceeded to grill a scrumptious dinner of steak, beans, corn, squash, and bread. Shaye and Nizhoni did everything they could to make sure we were happy and comfortable and they succeeded. Both of them are respectful, kind, and relaxed. Everything we needed, aside from a toothbrush, clothing, and flashlights, was provided.
A few years ago, Shaye’s dad built this fire pit and brought a table up here, but that’s all there is. This is nowhere…There’s no bathroom… you have to make do. The litter box in this picture is where you wash your hands. There is absolutely no one else and nothing else on this mesa. Yet, since it overlooks Monument Valley, there is a cell signal here (though there isn’t for most of the drive up).
We watched the sun set, ate dinner with Shaye and Nizhoni, and went to sleep. While sleeping, I left my camera out on the edge of the mesa with the shutter open for about 900 thirty second exposures to capture some star trails. You can leave your gear out in the open, out of view, yards away, while you sleep.
The next morning we toured some more, hiking a slot canyon where there was no trail and no other foot traffic to a triple sandstone arch, and saw some ancient cliff dwellings. To visit any of these places, you have to be a Navajo, or be with a Navajo guide. The Navajo Nation forbids travel alone by outsiders except in a very limited area around the monuments on the valley floor. From what we could tell, the Navajo don’t really visit them much either, because they are so remote.
Shaye and Nizhoni brought us back to our vehicle about 24 hours after starting. We bought them lunch and talked about them coming to visit us in California. I hope they do.
It was an amazing experience, highly recommended. If you’re interested, here’s the webpage to get started:
www.monumentvalleysafari.com/hunts-mesa
You want the 18 hour overnight tour. It’s longer than 18 hours because the road has changed since the website was made. Don’t bother with the day trip… it’s not much cheaper and it’s way too much off roading for a single day. The people at Monument Valley Safari are very flexible so if you want something different and it’s possible, they will do it for you.
The Camp
For our anniversary, my wife and I took a Navajo-led trip into some back country in the Navajo Nation on the Colorado Plateau. It was just us and our guides.
We drove and toured in a 4 wheel drive truck for about 4 hours on an old 1940’s uranium mining road to get to our campsite. It’s generous to call it a road. Most of the way there was no road at all, having washed away decades ago. Our Navajo guide, Shaye Holiday, scrambled us up steep boulders, slid us down stomach-churning sand dunes, crept along harrowing ledges, slid through bright red mud and scaled bony sandstone staircases. At times he had to get out of the truck and scout the path to see if we could even make it, since it had stormed here two days prior; often I was convinced we wouldn’t make it but we always did. At one point we all got out and did a little road building by piling rocks into crevices that were too deep for the truck. It would have been a scary trip, but it was clear that Shaye knew what he was doing and where he was going. Ok, it was still a little scary. During the drive we talked about Navajo culture and our personal lives and fell into an easy camaraderie. The conversation was thoughtful and interesting.
Eventually we arrived at this rocky ledge near the top of the mesa, overlooking the entire Monument Valley. Shaye built a fire, set up a couple of chairs, pitched a tent for Steph and me and one for himself and his wife Nizhoni and proceeded to grill a scrumptious dinner of steak, beans, corn, squash, and bread. Shaye and Nizhoni did everything they could to make sure we were happy and comfortable and they succeeded. Both of them are respectful, kind, and relaxed. Everything we needed, aside from a toothbrush, clothing, and flashlights, was provided.
A few years ago, Shaye’s dad built this fire pit and brought a table up here, but that’s all there is. This is nowhere…There’s no bathroom… you have to make do. The litter box in this picture is where you wash your hands. There is absolutely no one else and nothing else on this mesa. Yet, since it overlooks Monument Valley, there is a cell signal here (though there isn’t for most of the drive up).
We watched the sun set, ate dinner with Shaye and Nizhoni, and went to sleep. While sleeping, I left my camera out on the edge of the mesa with the shutter open for about 900 thirty second exposures to capture some star trails. You can leave your gear out in the open, out of view, yards away, while you sleep.
The next morning we toured some more, hiking a slot canyon where there was no trail and no other foot traffic to a triple sandstone arch, and saw some ancient cliff dwellings. To visit any of these places, you have to be a Navajo, or be with a Navajo guide. The Navajo Nation forbids travel alone by outsiders except in a very limited area around the monuments on the valley floor. From what we could tell, the Navajo don’t really visit them much either, because they are so remote.
Shaye and Nizhoni brought us back to our vehicle about 24 hours after starting. We bought them lunch and talked about them coming to visit us in California. I hope they do.
It was an amazing experience, highly recommended. If you’re interested, here’s the webpage to get started:
www.monumentvalleysafari.com/hunts-mesa
You want the 18 hour overnight tour. It’s longer than 18 hours because the road has changed since the website was made. Don’t bother with the day trip… it’s not much cheaper and it’s way too much off roading for a single day. The people at Monument Valley Safari are very flexible so if you want something different and it’s possible, they will do it for you.