Up at, as Betsy would say, the ass crack of dawn and on the road by 7am. Saw a bobcat cross the road ahead of us but too asleep to react with the camera. Followed the Dine Biitah ( Among the People ) Scenic Road to the capital of the Navajo Nation--Window Rock. Continued through the plateau area to Canyon de Chelly (d'Shay) where we discovered that the president of the Nation Ben Shelley ordered flags to be flown at half staff. Joe Antonio Silversmith, a Navajo Code Talker born in 1924, died on Feb 28. This on the heels of the death of another Code Talker in early February.
After touring the South Rim of the Canyon and chatting with a Navajo rock artist, Chris Pinto, we completed the loop back to Gallup through the valley to the West, stopping at Hubbell Trading Post and touring the Hubbell home with Tina, the US Ranger and Dine. After returning to Window Rock we reentered New Mexico and ate dinner at Virgie's Mexican Restaurant before returning to our room. We were home by 6 after covering 264 miles.
There is little I can say about the day that the pictures don't show. The entire experience was in so many ways spiritual. We had smiles on our faces the entire day and more than once one of us exclaimed with wonder at another sight around the next corner. This is a magnificent country and somehow it makes you feel as one with the Navajo to whom this land is sacred.
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