Michelle and I were camping at Monument Valley http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/monumentvalley.htm, 
the start of a long camping trip where we were to meet up with the Dillier family from Granite Bay, CA later in Durango. Since we both enjoy Native American archaelogical sites, we took a day trip to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced "shay"). http://www.nps.gov/cach/ Mid-afternoon, we stopped at a scenic vista overlooking the canyon and talked with a Native American woman selling jewelry. Michelle bought a simple necklace of turqouise beads and juniper seeds. The old woman said it would bring Michelle good luck (She's wearing it in the picture)
. We continued around the south rim of the canyon to Spider Rock Overlook. It was late in the afternoon now, and shadows were growing long. As we walked the trail from the parking lot to the overlook, we noticed a small red-brown dog in a ditch beside the trail. A young boy in front of us tried to pet the dog, but his father pulled him back saying the dog looked sickly. We continued to the overlook and stayed until all others had left, except a wizened Navajo woman who sat alone on a ledge away from the tourists, apparently communing with Spider Woman, who the rock is named after. As we were returning to the truck for afternoon tea, the little dog left her nest and crust of bread behind and fell in step behind me. She followed us back to the parking lot and laid her head in Michelle's lap as we sipped tea I heated up on our backbacking stove. She had a limp, was very dirty and emaciated. The Navajo woman completed her sojourn and walked past us her way out. We asked if she knew anything about the little dog and she said there were many of them in the park, and we should take her if we wished. I gave Michelle my best arguments as to why we didn't need another dog right now (we already had two at home), amplified with the fact that we would be camping for several weeks. She said, "Well, we can leave her, but I'll cry." Who do you think won? I scooped up the pup (she didn't resist) and put her in the back seat of the truck. We drove to the village of Kayenta and Michelle went in the small grocery store for a few doggie items. I sat in the parking lot with Chelly (after the canyon, but pronounced Shelley) for about an hour. A crazy man claiming to be some kind of Shaman came up to my window and we had a protracted discussion which resulted in him blessing me and Chelly and me giving him some money. We finally made it back to the campsite after dark and I bathed Chelly and wrapped her in a towel. She did not move for 12 hours. The picture below is the earliest one of Chelly the next morning with some French girls camping next to us at Monument Valley, and Chelly and me at Mexican Hat.
the start of a long camping trip where we were to meet up with the Dillier family from Granite Bay, CA later in Durango. Since we both enjoy Native American archaelogical sites, we took a day trip to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced "shay"). http://www.nps.gov/cach/ Mid-afternoon, we stopped at a scenic vista overlooking the canyon and talked with a Native American woman selling jewelry. Michelle bought a simple necklace of turqouise beads and juniper seeds. The old woman said it would bring Michelle good luck (She's wearing it in the picture)
. We continued around the south rim of the canyon to Spider Rock Overlook. It was late in the afternoon now, and shadows were growing long. As we walked the trail from the parking lot to the overlook, we noticed a small red-brown dog in a ditch beside the trail. A young boy in front of us tried to pet the dog, but his father pulled him back saying the dog looked sickly. We continued to the overlook and stayed until all others had left, except a wizened Navajo woman who sat alone on a ledge away from the tourists, apparently communing with Spider Woman, who the rock is named after. As we were returning to the truck for afternoon tea, the little dog left her nest and crust of bread behind and fell in step behind me. She followed us back to the parking lot and laid her head in Michelle's lap as we sipped tea I heated up on our backbacking stove. She had a limp, was very dirty and emaciated. The Navajo woman completed her sojourn and walked past us her way out. We asked if she knew anything about the little dog and she said there were many of them in the park, and we should take her if we wished. I gave Michelle my best arguments as to why we didn't need another dog right now (we already had two at home), amplified with the fact that we would be camping for several weeks. She said, "Well, we can leave her, but I'll cry." Who do you think won? I scooped up the pup (she didn't resist) and put her in the back seat of the truck. We drove to the village of Kayenta and Michelle went in the small grocery store for a few doggie items. I sat in the parking lot with Chelly (after the canyon, but pronounced Shelley) for about an hour. A crazy man claiming to be some kind of Shaman came up to my window and we had a protracted discussion which resulted in him blessing me and Chelly and me giving him some money. We finally made it back to the campsite after dark and I bathed Chelly and wrapped her in a towel. She did not move for 12 hours. The picture below is the earliest one of Chelly the next morning with some French girls camping next to us at Monument Valley, and Chelly and me at Mexican Hat.
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