This morning we drove northeast to the town of Ganado and stopped at the Hubbell Trading Post.
This trading post is the oldest continuously operating post in the Navaho Nation and is now a National Historic Site. John Lorenzo Hubbell began trading here in 1876. He looked after the Indians, treating them honestly and helped them to improve the productions of their goods. Today the trading post sells supplies along with Indian rugs and jewelry.
The Hubbell home behind the trading can be toured with a park ranger for a small fee. Our Senior park pass allowed us to take the tour for $1.00 each. The home is as it was when the Hubbell family lived here. It is filled with baskets on the ceiling, Navaho rugs on the floors and pictures, photographs and works of art, on the walls. Artists, writers, photographers and others would travel through the area stopping at the trading post. Mr. Hubbell would provide free room and board and encourage them to stay. He wanted no payment but when they would insist he would suggest leaving a picture that was photographed or painted.
Leaving the trading post we traveled farther north to the Canyon de Chelly (d Shay) near the town of Chinle. This canyon is a National Monument.
We traveled the South Rim Drive making stops at the 7 viewing areas. Spider rock is the fartherest out and our first stop. This rock is an 800 foot sandstone spire that is at the junction of Canyon de Chelly and Monument Canyon.
At this area we were 7000 feet in elevation and the was a lot of snow on the ground here. People have lived in these canyons for nearly 5000 years. Cliff dwellings are visible at some of the overlooks and today there are Navaho people living and farming in the canyon.
The canyon is considered sacred to the Navahos so tours into the canyon can only be taken with Navaho guides. There is one area, White House, that has a trail 2.5 miles round trip where visitors can enter the canyon without a guide.
We did not take this hike as pets are not allowed (Travis was along today) and it was late in the afternoon. The views of the red rocks in this canyon are just beautiful.
The weather today was sunny. Traveling up to the canyon the winds became quite brisk and strong stirring up the dust in the valley. We traveled about 225 miles today round trip from Holbrook. Both the trading post and the canyon are no fee parks. The Hubbell home and tours into the canyon do have a cost. At one of the viewing areas there was an Indian selling pieces of sandstone with Indian paintings on them and we did purchase one.
