USA Day 7

The day before this we had tyre trouble and so lost time and had to skip a viewing of Aztec Ruins. So   on Day 7 we went there first thing. It was another Great House but much better organised than previous ones. We were issued with a self guide booklet and important points were marked and explained. The Great Kiva has been restored in the 1920s. That would not be done today but nevertheless it was very enlightening.

On the right is a corner of the reconstructed Kiva. There was a small but good museum, with lots of artefacts.

And that included some pieces of weaving. After that it was off to Teec No Pos trading store which was a great disappointment.

Skeins hung up for sale. I asked about this. Was it natural or acid dyed? Was it churro sheep? Was it local? The answer was that it was all bought in and she clearly knew nothing else. There were some  spindles for sale but she knew nothing about them either. I walked out having bought two books and nothing else.

And then to Canyon de Chelly. Pronounced Canyon d'Shay.  Quite beautiful and lived in by the Navajos. This is Navajo land.

We spent several hours here. Then on to the motel Desert Rose Motel where the staff are all Navajos and it is very comfortable although the address gives cause for concern. It is Main Street, Bluff. The trouble is that there is a road, the motel and a lot of desert. No sign of a town to have a Main Street.

All but two of the party have gone off to do a river trip. I opted out because my right hip was complaining at anything like a climb and there is lots of that on the river trip. We have arranged to go with the bus driver to a place nearby for lunch as there is nothing here.

And at the same time, Dorothy has decided she needs to go to Bilbao to look at the architecture of the Guggenheim  museum so we are doing some long distance organisation. Planned for mid December?