Razing Arizona

DAY 6 - Today (Wednesday) would be our most accomplished day yet! We awoke this morning in the beauty of the Mesa Verde National Park and decided that we had seen quite enough cliffdwellings, so we packed up and headed out of Colorado into Navajo Nation. Soon we found ourselves at Four Corners Monument, where the corners of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona, meet...and for a meer $3 you can stand in four states at the same time!!! Yeah, it was cool...but not as cool as standing in five states at the same time!

Next, we moved south to Chinle, Arizona, gateway to the Canyon de Chelley. Chase had been here before a while ago with his mother, so he made quite the excellent tour guide! Canyon de Chelley features Spider Rock, home to the Navajo deity Spider Woman, who taught the Navajo how to weave.

And thank God she did, because at our next stop, we saw local Navajo women weaving ornate rugs by hand. This was at the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site. This was the central hub of trade for local Native American crafts. It served to both exploit Indian handiwork, as well as spread their culture across America. We missed the last tour by 7 minutes, so Chase had to act as a fill in tour guide.

We raced southward towards the Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert, in hopes that we would make it there before it closed. Luckily, we arrived at 6pm and the park closed at 7pm (and we got 3 stamps in our passport for this one folks!). For those of you who are planning to visit a National Park...don't attempt to do it in an hour! We found ourselves racing with another young couple (obviously of the tree-hugging persuasion) to each point of the Park. Though this provided for much entertainment, we found ourselves rushing to take pictures...sometimes even just jumping out of the car, running to the overlook, taking some quick pictures, and running back to the car. This is NOT recommended! We missed the best part of the Park by 5 minutes, and left the Park feeling defeated. Better luck next time.

Apparently, Jimmy was sad about it too, because as we were driving away from the Park, he began to shake. Shake like Jimmy hasn't shaken before. He shook so bad, that we are stuck here in a $30 motel in Holbrook, Arizona, until we can have him checked out in the morning. Prayers for tests and difficulties? I think so....

Overall, it was a good day...we hit 4 NATIONAL POINTS OF INTEREST!!