April 25

Day 1
Arrive in Phoenix and proceed to Flagstaff for lunch and then on to Meteor Crater. Meteor Crater is the newest (50,000 years) and best preserved meteor crater on earth. It's over one mile across and over one quarter mile deep. From here we go to Chinle, Arizona on the Navajo Indian reservation. We will overnight at the Best Western Canyon de Chelly Inn. A continental breakfast will be provided the next morning. Swimming is available.

Day 2
Breakfast at the hotel. While at Canyon de Chelly (pronounced canyon dee shay), we will hike into White House Ruin. This ruin is the largest and best preserved cliff dwelling in Canyon de Chelly. An ancient Anasazi ruin, it housed about 50 families from about 1250 to 1300 AD. Around that time, the Anasazi completely abandoned the region and never returned. The Navajo moved in and occupied Canyon de Chelly around 1500 AD.


Canyon de Chelly	White House Ruin

While one group hikes the canyon to White House Run, another will go on a two hour horseback ride into the lower canyon to First Ruin, so called because it is the first ruin encountered upon entering the canyon (the Navajo are very literal). Once the first hiking and riding groups are done, we will switch until everyone gets do to both. Lunch at the Thunderbird Lodge, an easy walk from the horse stables, will be fit into the gaps between riding and hiking. We will overnight at the Best Western Canyon de Chelly Inn. A continental breakfast will be provided the next morning. Swimming is available.

Day 3
Leaving Chinle and Canyon de Chelly, we will go to Four Corners Tribal Park, the only place in the United States where four states come together and you can actually stand in all four at the same time, if you place your hands and feet right.

After we get through with our tour of four states at the same time, we move on to Monument Valley, probably the most spectacular region in all the U.S. Monuments carved out of sandstone over millennia, stand in moot testament to the ravages of time and erosion. They tower over the landscape at up to 1,500 feet high, dwarfing everything around them. We will take a two hour jeep tour of the valley, then settle in for a wondrous cookout by the local Navajo people, where they will regale us with stories of the Diné people. Once we leave here, we have time for a nap as we head to Cameron, where we will spend the night at the Cameron trading post hotel. Breakfast is not provided, so plan to eat in the trading post restaurant. They open at 6 AM.

Day 4
Up early to catch the light at Desert View, we head into the Grand Canyon. Stops will be at Desert View, Yavapai Point and El Tovar Lodge. El Tovar was built by the railroad , we can hike down into the canyon for about a mile to the turn around point, beyond which we may not go without permits, plus the fact we don't have time to go further. That afternoon we will head back to Phoenix, arriving late and staying at the Sleep Inn near the airport. A continental breakfast will be provided the next morning.

Preparations:
1. Be prepared to dress in layers. We will be traveling above 6,000 feet elevation for the duration of the tour and it gets very cold at night in April, but the days can be warm.
2. We will have water on the bus. If you want anything else, you may bring it. We will have coolers with ice on board and you can add other beverages as room allows.
3. In the east, the term Native American is acceptable. In the west it is generally unacceptable. The protocol on this is American Indian as a general term, Navajo or Hopi as a specific tribal term, their name being your ultimate goal. The Navajo ancestral name and the name they refer to themselves as is Diné (dĭn-eh).
4. Pictures of scenery are not restricted. Pictures of Hogan’s (the 8 sided traditional home of the Navajo) is discouraged and you must get their permission before taking the picture of any individual. Do not take it personally if they refuse.
5. A Navajo will not generally initiate a conversation, but are usually friendly if you do. If they do not want to talk to you, don't press it. Their handshakes are limp because they feel a firm handshake is too personal with someone you don't know.
6. The Navajo are a very peaceful and quiet people, so conduct yourselves accordingly. A respectful and quiet demeanor is expected among elders.
7. We will be traveling in the ancestral homeland of the Navajo. To us it may seem barren, harsh and cruel, but there are areas of the reservation which are as beautiful as anything you will find in the US. In fact they believe their reservation to be the most beautiful place on earth. We happen to agree with that as we love the Colorado Plateau and it is our goal to try to get you to see the beauty of an area which will be as foreign to you as the moon.
8. The climate is extremely arid and there is no humidity. Sun screen and sun glasses are mandatory. Hats are advised.
9. It is important to prepare yourself for living on Indian Time (Indian time means we will get it done, whenever we get it done). There is a schedule, but it is loose and flexible. Everything on the reservation happens on their time, not ours.
10. A Liability Waiver must be filled out and submitted to Walk Softly Tours prior to the tour. It is in PDF format. If you cannot read a PDF file, download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader by clicking on the link.