The slot canyon of Antelope is located on the reservation and it can only be toured with a Navajo guide, for it is a sacred place in their culture. We got lucky on two counts -- Ivanna was our guide and we went in a Suburban, not an open truck. She is an attractive and funny Navajo. Access to the canyon is via a VERY sandy area that floods during the rainy season. It can only be traversed in 4-wheel drive. She took delight in spinning us around.
o enter Antelope is no less inspiring that entering the most beautiful cathedral. Ivanna showed us things about our cameras we didn't know they did and we got great pictures. The 6 of us on our tour were joined by Roy - nice man from Boston. Ivanna kept referring to us as "Southern and Roy." We're tring to think of a drink by that name. The pictures will say all that needs to said.
We packed up and headed for Monument Valley which is also a Navajo site. We loaded into the back of Jimmy's pickup truck which had been outfitted with three rows of seats and a roof. We left about 2 on a very bumpy road that has never been paved. It's about a million degrees and very dusty . It appears that the Indians are getting their revenge by hitting every possible bump!
The monuments are awesome and Jimmy showed us all the possible images in each one. We stopped for a picnic about an hour into the trip in a well hidden spot in the valley. We were hungry, hot and dusty. The lunch was great and then it was back in the truck and more monuments. We stopped to visit a 98 year old Susie,who has lived there all her life and has 5 children and a total of 74 great, great, great-great grandchildren.
The tour continued with many photo stops. By this time John, who is originally from England and is a retired vascular surgeon was yelling "STRAIGHT home Jimmy" every time we stopped. Our camera batteries were all dead from taking so many photos and what was supposed to have been a 2 1/2 hour tour had been going on for over 3 hours. When Jimmy announced we were stopping for 10 minutes at the last photo opp over our protests, none of us got out of the truck. He probably had family selling jewelry there! It was back over the very bumpy road. Even our tour guide had gotten worried!! We thankfully piled into the van and headed to Bluff to spend the night at a great "log" hotel called the Desert Rose.
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