The best part was...

 ...family time spent together.  We were all together for a few days over the Memorial weekend, with the noticeable exception of Dave, Courtney and Charlie.  We missed them. 
We visited, hiked, ate Navajo tacos, attended church at the LDS ward in Chinle, we played games, we had a FHE on family history, we celebrated Will's 2nd birthday, we chased rabbits, we played Frisbee and baseball, we took in the sights and we just loved being together.  The kids had a great time playing with each other and their aunts and uncles and grandparents. Family time really is the BEST time.

Canyon de Chelly

I had never heard of Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de shay, meaning inside the rock.) I didn't even know it existed. We have traveled to many places around Arizona and New Mexico, but we had never traveled this road before.  I love to see new places and learn about them.  This beautiful canyon was no exception.  No only was it beautiful with breathtaking views, but the Navajo history of this canyon is terribly interesting.  It is/was a sacred canyon to them.  They used it for protection, for gatherings, for raising peaches and other crops, for shelter in the winter months and also as a means to warn them of approaching danger when others came into the canyon.  Sounds and echos can be heard from miles away.
Kit Carson was spooked by the canyon.  As he began his campaign as an army commander, he was given the assignment to drive the Navajo out of the canyon. Outlaw Navajos (called ladrones, Spanish for thieves), as well as other Native Americans, and their neighboring New Mexicans, had raided, killed and enslaved each other since they had lived side by side during Spanish rule. Several treaties were made, but they were ineffectual at preventing violence between Americans and Navajos. It is interesting reading to get an idea of what happened in and around Canyon de Chelly by reading the Wikipedia version of events on Kit Carson, starting HERE. and beginning with "The Navajo Campaign." Kit Carson and his troupes used the "scorched earth policy" to drive the Navajo from the canyon.  A scorched earth policy is a military strategy which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. It is a military strategy where all of the assets that are used or can be used by the enemy are targeted, such as food sources, transportation, communications, industrial resources, and even the people in the area.
Kit Carson never entered the canyon, but he commanded his troupes to drive the Navajo from the canyon and forced them to walk a distance of over 300 miles to be relocated in Bosque Redondo/Fort Sumner in January weather.  300 Navajo died along the trail and the people refer to this forced walk and relocation as "The Long Walk."  A very long walk indeed.  After four years of starvation and other trials at Fort Sumner they were finally allowed to return home.

This from Wiki:
On June 18, 1868, the once-scattered bands of people who call themselves Dinéh (pronounced
 DeNae), set off together on the return journey, the "Long Walk" home. This is one of the few instances where the U.S. government permitted a tribe to return to their traditional boundaries. The Navajo were granted 3.5 million acres of land inside their four sacred mountains. The Navajo also became a more cohesive tribe after the Long Walk and were able to successfully increase the size of their reservation since then, to over 16 million acres. The map below shows the current land mass of the Navajo Nation.  Interestingly, the green patch on the lower left hand side is the Hopi reservation which is surrounded by the Navajo Nation. Tensions between the two tribes continue to this day.

With all the history in mind, you can imagine the thrill we had in visiting Canyon de Chelly over the Memorial Day weekend.  We were able to see the canyon at sunset and again the next day when we stopped at several look out points to view the canyon and then to hike to the bottom along a mile and a half trail through absolutely beautiful scenery.  Our whole entourage was able to make the hike, including two boys in carrying packs on their father's backs and two four year olds who had the time of their lives.  At the bottom we were rewarded with a close up view of the White House ruins that were build by the Anasazi civilizations. Anasazi is Navajo for "the ancient ones." We also got to see the spectacular Spider Woman Rock.  Navajo lore tells that Spider Woman—one of their most honored deities—chose the top of Spider Rock for her home. It was Spider Woman who taught her people the art of weaving, and through many generations they have remained accomplished weavers. Amazing! We were only able to view a small portion of the canyon (some of the north rim) and hope to some day return and view more of this beautiful canyon.

Our daughter Jordan did a great writeup of the trip on her blog HERE.http://jtrainride.blogspot.com/

Traveling through New Mexico and Arizona history

In preparation for our trip through Native American country, I read the book recommended by my son-in-law R called Blood and Thunder.  Wow.  Just wow.  I had heard the name of Kit Carson before, but I didn't have a very good idea of the role he played in conquering the American West, especially New Mexico and Arizona between the time of 1820 to about 1860s.  Manifest Destiny came to life and I leaned so much about all that happened in this critical time period.
I like to imagine what life would have been like for the thousands of Native Americans who lived in this area.  They had roomed this land for centuries and not no concept of boarders and laws brought in by the white man. Their lives were simple and they learned to be ingenious and live off the land, making use of the few resources at their disposal. I marvel at their abilities and skill with weaving rugs, making fine pottery, weaving baskets, making jewelry from the stones they found in their environment, and finding and cooking their traditional food.
As we began our journey, we traveled from Utah to New Mexico and started in Albuquerque.  From there we went to see Sky City in the Acoma pueblo.  We learned more about the Acoma people and the skill they have in making pottery. Their Sky City cultural center was very impressive.

From there we journeyed on to see El Morro National Monument that was spectacular.  Unfortunately we didn't get there in time to hike, but we did enjoy the visitors center and learning more about this huge sand stone rock and its significance. Ancestral Puebloans, Spanish and American travelers carved over 2,000 signatures, dates, messages, and petroglyphs into the soft sandstone. 

That evening we arrived in the Zuni Pueblo  and stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast called the Inn at Halona arranged by R's father who works in the hospital in the Pueblo. He drove us around the Pueblo and told us about some of the history and the way the people currently live.  We enjoyed some fresh baked bread made in a large adobe oven and he also bought some individual fruit pies.  We got a demonstration from the man who made the bread as to how the oven works.  Impressive! We also got to eat some blue corn pancakes made by some industrious Zuni women for breakfast and they were delicious. 

After eating our huge and delicious breakfast at the Halona Inn, we traveled through Gallup, NM headed to Chinle, AZ.  We had a little tire trouble and had to make a stop to get it fixed.  We saw where R grew up and where his family lived.  We sojourned on to see the Window Rock AZ, the capital of the Navajo Nation. This wondrous site is also home to a hand-carved superbly-detailed Navajo Code Talker statue and a place that pays tribute to Navajo veterans.  Unbeknownst to many, the Navajo language played a very significant role in U.S. history. In fact, the Navajo language was used as a secret code in World War II, which was never broken by the enemy.  Today, these men who displayed their unequaled bravery and patriotism are known as the Navajo Code Talkers.

After leaving Window Rock, we traveled on to the historic Hubbell Trading Post  that is still in use as an active trading post of the Navajos in the area.  We enjoyed a tour and I added another beautiful tile to my collection from this trip.

Finally, we reached our destination in the afternoon - Chinle, Arizona.  We stayed in the Sacred Lodge Inn and enjoyed having our four rooms all in a row with a comfortable conference room situated close by for group activities.
I have a lot of respect for R's father R.  He served his LDS mission in the Navajo Nation and has spent his career working in health services among the Native Americans in Chinle, Gallup and Zuni. He is such a kind, dignified, hard-working, funny, generous man who is so interesting to talk to about Native American history and facts.  We enjoyed having him with us on this trip and appreciated his kind and gentle ways. 

Native American History

I've been interested in Native American history for quite awhile now.  Maybe it stems back to my interest in the Book of Mormon and the history of the Lamanite people.  Maybe it has something to do with my love of the the movie Dances with Wolves.  More than likely it has to do with living in the western US my whole life and driving through many Native American reservations and seeing the inhabitants and how they live.  Whatever the reason, I've been intrigued with their culture and their history for some time now.  Where did they come from?  What kind of lives did they lead?  Why were they put on reservations? What are they doing now?
Many years ago, my family gave me a large picture book with beautiful pictures of Native American leaders and a overview of their lands and the areas their tribes controlled for centuries before the arrival of the white man.  Growing up in Idaho, I remember my dad and others finding Indian arrowheads when they plowed the ground of the fertile Snake River valley.  When we travel/traveled, I like to stop and look at the historical markers along the way and learn more about the incidents that happened on those sites many years ago.  When I was a kid, we would often pass by a place called Massacre Rocks in Idaho on our way to swim at Indian Springs.  I always wondered what happened there and why it was called massacre rocks and why there was a natural hot water swimming hole called Indian Springs nearby.  I came to find out that the Shoshone Indians once inhabited that area and they would sometimes lie in wait as wagon trains traveling the Oregon trail would pass through the narrow passage of rocks in that area of present day American Falls, ID. On several occasions, the Shoshoni would ambush the travelers passing through the rocks and massacre them. 
Shoshone falls (near present day Twin Falls) bears the name of the Northern Shoshoni Indians who once lived along the shores of the Snake River.  The plentiful water and fertile ground made it a perfect place for them to farm, fish and graze their animals.  Eventually the area Shoshoni were rounded up and put on the Fort Hall Indian reservation near Pocatello, ID. We would often travel through and near the reservation every year on our way to Yellowstone Park. It seems that most of the reservations I've seen through the years are barren wastelands with little chance for agriculture.
These familiar places and names interested me at an early age and I've continued to read and learn more about Native Americans and their cultures.  That tradition continued last week as we traveled to New Mexico and Arizona and learned more about the Jicarilla Apache, the Pueblo Indians, including the Acoma Pueblo, the Zuni Pueblo, and the Hopi reservation that is located in the middle of the mighty Navajo Nation. I'm in awe of their craftsmanship and the general resiliency of the people.  So many live in poverty and have little hope, but others are thriving.  It's an interesting study of history and I have a lot of respect for the early inhabitants of our country.  They are truly Native to America.