severngaspumps.com Blog

By now you realize that we did a whole bunch of driving on our trip. Arizona is a very large State and to see it , then you need to move about. The morning after we visited Monument Valley, we left our hotel in Kayenta and started North and then East to to Chinle, Az. This is the location of Canyon de Chelly….pronounced “de Shay”.  There were cliff dwellers all throughout the Southwest over a period of 1A.D. until the time the Spanish explorers came to visit.

This is an extreemly rugged area and shows the adaptability of the early Indians who lived there. As we stopped at an overlook called Mummy Cave Ruins, I noticed several small stone carvings sitting on the pavement. We were the only ones around, no other cars. Only the wind blowing across the canyon. I was comenting how nice the carvings were when I heard a voice say “Hello”.  From under a tree, not far from where we were standing, came a Navajo man of about 40 years old.  He explained that he was the artist and usually sat here most days waiting for tourists…..Tourists is what we were so we had a very nice conversation with him.  Oh, I need to mention, we left with several of his stone carvings as well!  There is much Navajo history about this canyon and the conflicts with the Spanish…..In their tales, they tell of the Spanish soldiers waiting for the men of the tribe to go on a hunt.  Once they were gone, the Spanish attacked the cliff dwelling to kill the women, children and elderly. One brave female fought with a soldier and they both fell to their deaths……hence forth, the natives called this place…..”Two Fell Off”…..and they still use the referance to this day.