Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [272]
NAVAJO NATIONAL MONUMENT
This national monument, deep inside the Navajo Nation, contains three of the best-preserved ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in the region—Betatakin, Keet Seel, and Inscription House. You can visit both Betatakin and Keet Seel, but fragile Inscription House is closed to the public. There are also exhibits on the Navajo culture.
Stop first at the visitor center (open daily year-round) to see the displays on the ancestral Puebloan and Navajo cultures, including numerous artifacts from Tsegi Canyon. Several short films are shown, and a shop sells Navajo and Pueblo arts and crafts.
Betatakin, which means "ledge house" in Navajo, is the only one of the three ruins that can be seen easily, and that is from a distance on a 1-mile round-trip walk. Built in a huge amphitheater-like alcove in the canyon wall, Betatakin was occupied only from 1250 to 1300, and at its peak may have housed 125 people. A strenuous 5-mile round-trip hike to the ruin is led by a ranger and involves descending more than 700 feet to the floor of Tsegi Canyon, and later hiking back up to the rim.
Keet Seel, which means "broken pieces of pottery" in Navajo, was occupied from as early as A.D. 950 until 1300, and at its peak may have housed 150 people. Twenty people a day receive permits to make the strenuous 17-mile round-trip hike to Keet Seel. The trail is open only in summer.
A free, shady campground with 31 small sites, toilets, and drinking water is open year-round. Another free campground, open April through September, has 16 sites, pit toilets, and no water.
From Cortez, Colorado, follow U.S. 160 south and west 137 miles into New Mexico and Arizona, to Ariz. 564, which leads north 9 miles to the monument. For information, contact Navajo National Monument, HC-71, Box 3, Tonalea, AZ 86044-9704 (☎ 928/672-2700; www.nps.gov/nava). The park is open daily year-round. Admission is free.
CANYON DE CHELLY NATIONAL MONUMENT
People have lived in these deep canyons for more than 2,000 years, and there are more than 100 prehistoric dwelling sites in the area. The monument includes two major canyons—Canyon de Chelly (which comes from the Navajo word tségi, meaning "rock canyon"), and Canyon del Muerto (Spanish for "Canyon of the Dead"). The smooth sandstone walls of rich reds and yellows contrast sharply with the deep greens of corn, pasture, and cottonwood on the canyon floor.
Stop first at the visitor center (open daily year-round) to see exhibits on both the present-day Navajo residents and the ancient peoples who inhabited the canyons. There's often a silversmith at the visitor center demonstrating Navajo jewelry-making.
The two rim drives cover about 20 miles each and, with stops, can easily take 2 hours apiece.
The North Rim Drive overlooks Canyon del Muerto. From view points, you'll see Ledge Ruin, occupied between A.D. 1050 and 1275, and nearby, a lone kiva (circular ceremonial building). Farther along, Mummy Cave—named for two mummies found in burial urns—is a large amphitheater with two caves, believed to have been occupied from 300 to 1300. There's a three-story structure similar to dwellings at Mesa Verde, and altogether there are 80 rooms.
The South Rim Drive climbs the South Rim of Canyon de Chelly, providing views of rugged canyons, the junction of Canyon del Muerto and Canyon de Chelly, and several ruins, including First Ruin, with 22 rooms and 2 kivas. Farther along is the White House Overlook. The final stop on the South Rim offers a spectacular view of Spider Rock, twin towers that rise 800 feet from the canyon floor.
The White House Ruins Trail, the only trail into the canyon you can take without a guide, descends 600 feet to the canyon floor, crosses Chinle Wash, and approaches the White House Ruins. Among the largest ruins in the canyon, it