I went up to southern Utah last week and decided to swing by Canyon de Chelly on my way. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hike down into the canyon but I just wanted to see it again.
I have a connection to Canyon de Chelly that I don’t understand and can’t explain. As a child, I had an endless fascination with the Edward Curtis photo of Canyon de Chelly below.1
Then, about a month after I’d moved to New Mexico, an old friend called and asked if I wanted to go with him to what sounded like Canyon d’Shay. I had no idea what he was talking about but said yes anyway.
It wasn’t until we hiked down into the canyon that I realized I was in Canyon de Chelly, the place of my childhood dreams. It was as if I’d somehow magically entered into a fairy tale that didn’t — couldn’t possibly — exist in real life. I felt a sense of peace and serenity at the bottom of Canyon de Chelly that I’ve seldom felt elsewhere.
Canyon de Chelly is an unusual National Monument in that it’s jointly administered by the Park Service and the Navajo Nation. A number of Diné (Navajo people) still live and work within the canyon. For that reason, the public is allowed access into the canyon only when accompanied by a Navajo guide.2 Which explains the sign above, at least in part.3
The image was in a coffee-table book of 19th-century photos called American Album. I took that book out of my southern New England library over and over and over again. Now I wonder whether I was always destined to be a photographer in the southwest, or if the Canyon de Chelly landscape, along with its presentation as a photo, struck some chord within me and seeded a desire to see and document something similar.
Technically, there’s a single exception, which is the trail down to the White House ruins; the same trail my friend and I hiked down many, many years ago. It’s been closed for a couple of years though, and I was told last week that no one knows when it will reopen.
I wouldn’t normally photograph this type of sign, but since it had not one but two flying saucers, I couldn’t resist.
How neat when the Universe aligns, and we're observant enough to engage the beauty and the miracle. Thanks for sharing your story. It warms my heart. PS It took me awhile, and a major magnification, to find the second flying saucer! Good catch.