Canyon de Chelly

Pronounced duh-SHAY.  Like it's a french place.  But apparently, the word they were looking for is Tséyiʼ, a Navajo word that means canyon.  So, Canyon de canyon.

Whatever.  The important thing is this insanity:

It's worse than it looks.

Buffalo Pass, connecting (roughly) Shiprock, NM to Chinle, AZ, was amazing.  I love a good driving road, and this was one of the best.  Great views in places, 

I mean, decent views.

decent road quality, insane curves and elevation changes, and low traffic.

Did I mention elevation changes?

That was a heck of a welcome to Arizona.  And despite the fact that I checked the weather and there was a 0% chance of precipitation for 3 days, and I'm in the, y'know, desert...

This nonsense happened on the way back:

The view from Buffalo pass.  A sign there tells you the names of all those distant mountains you can see.

I had thought to camp here, but I didn't bring my cross-country skis.

So I didn't end up camping in the pass.  I will, though.  I suspect the views on a clear night are absolutely astounding.  It's also cold up there, so I suppose a few weeks to let it warm up won't hurt.  In between the fun driving, and racing home through a snowstorm, there was this:

White House ruins.

I love a hike with tunnels.

Spider Rock.

When I got here, there was a girl probably in her early 20's, just sitting and thinking.  Not a lot of sitting on this cold day, but there she was.  I was there for a good 20 minutes, I don't know how long she had been there, but she sat for at least another 10 while I wandered around.  I guess what I'm saying is that if you have some thinking to do, this is a decent place to do it.

I didn't do any of the tours you need a Navajo guide for.  Maybe another time.