Saturday July 13

  

Life is What Happens While You're Busy Making Other Plans


Today we went back to the incredible Canyon De Chelly, the second largest canyon in North America. At the visitor's center we can get our National Parks Passport stamped again because today we toured the South Rim. What amazes me is not only the sheer beauty of the place, but the fact that people actually live down on the canyon floor while jeeps full of tourists travel the winding roads and switchbacks to the floor. The more I think about it, I don't think I'd like being on display like that.

Long before I began planning this long-awaited trip, I knew that I didn't want to be "just another tourist." I wanted to get to know these remarkable people, interact with them, somehow let them know that I'm not just another Anglo out to exploit their natural beauty. And it did happen, in the most unexpected, most amazing way. What began as a horrible experience, my worst nightmare come true, became a day of incredible beauty for me. My car broke down descending the 7,000 feet above sea level South Rim on my way back to the visitor's center.

Although I had had the car checked thoroughly by 3 separate mechanics in the 3 weeks prior to making this trip (including the day before we left), the car began to overheat and as soon as I pulled over under the only tree in the area, the car began to steam. Luckily, someone was available to call the Park Service for me and a wonderful man named William Yazzie came to our rescue. After waiting for the car to cool down, I opened the radiator and held the paper funnel as he began puring my bottled water in. That's when I saw why the car overheated... the water gushed right out from the water pump! We also both noticed around the same time that the fan blades were not where they were supposed to be; apparently the bolt came lose either from the fan or from the broken water pump. Unfortunately (in a way) there were no tow trucks available and no mechanics up in the high desert.

William drove us back to the visitor's center (after we grabbed a few things from the car) and the people at the center began making calls for us. William had already made a few calls from his car. With no available tow truck and nowhere to tow the car anyway, I was so upset that I began to cry. Suddenly a woman standing next to me gave me the biggest hug. I did feel better then, knowing at least that so many people cared and were trying so hard to help us.

We left the visitor's center armed with some pieces of paper with more numbers written on them. William drove us back to the Holiday Inn where I had already called in another night's reservation. At least if we had to break down, it was at the nicest motel we'd stayed in so far, and in an area of the country with the nicest people I'd ever met.

Once at the motel, he helped us unload the car and carried the heavier things to our room. Now I really needed a cigarette! I hadn't "really" smoked since, well, let's just say I was still in the "process of quitting" when all of this happened. Corey stayed in the room and I walked down to the main building to see if there was anyone down there who smoked who might give me a cigarette. A woman at the registration desk said she'd be happy to drive down to Chinle to get me a pack of cigarettes. I gladly gave her my money and she delivered the pack right to my motel room, which I'd gone back to in order to make more calls.

Lance and I had been in touch since he got home from work at RACC and I had had him call Karen in Phoenix for me, hoping that she'd be willing to drive all the way up here to rescue me. There is a Subaru dealership down there which can work on my car possibly Monday, but more likely Tuesday. That's fine because we were already booked for Flagstaff for Sunday and Monday nights. Although Karen isn't able to make the long trip up here, she did suggest that I offer to pay someone here to drive us down. What a great idea! I walked back to the main building and asked at the reservations desk if anyone knew of anyone who would be willing to drive me. That's when Patrick walked over and asked about the car. He made a few suggestions for me and then remembered that there's a U-Haul place right down the road who might have a van I could rent. He called down there for me and was able to get me a "24-footer." Thinking that this was just a large van, I said, grab it! He called them back while I called Corey at the room to let her know that Patrick was driving me down to get the van.

Just a tiny bit west and over the hill from the motel is a dirt road to the left. It goes up a long hill leading to the U-Haul rental agency, which is really a man's home. He greeted us from a wheelchair and led us into his office where he registered me on his computer. Patrick and I talked about authentic Navajo rugs and he told me about an Antiques Road Show he had seen where a man came in with what he claimed to be not only an authentic Navajo rug, but one given to his grandfather by Kit Carson. The rug was appraised at $300,000 and IF it could be certified somehow that Carson really did give that rug, another $100,000 could be added to its value!

After signing all the paperwork, the man led Patrick and me to his backdoor which led to a deck and his U-Hauls. What I saw back there shocked me; the 24-footer is really a TRUCK! The kind with a cab; the body of the truck is cube-shaped with part of it overhanging the cab. I was terrified, but I got in with Patrick and the man laughing. I figured out where the most important controls were located and then suddenly remembered the long, steep dirt hill I'd have to go down. Patrick assured me he'd be right behind me all the way down, so I began a very slow descent in 1st gear. But the engine bucks if it isn't being given enough gas, so I held on tight, testing the brakes all the way, and made it back to the motel, where another tourist took a picture of Patrick, Corey and me beside the truck.

Just a short time later, the tow-truck operator called to say that he couldn't find my car. I was about to get into the truck to meet him at the canyon when the other tourist (from Louisville, KY) offered to drive us over in his company van. Corey and I hopped in, met the tow-truck in front of the motel and we began the ascent to the canyon rim.

Once inside the canyon area, we saw William coming toward us. We flagged him down and he turned around to meet us at the car. What a sight we all must have been... a minivan, a flatbed tow-truck and a park ranger arriving at this little Subaru wagon parked under the only tree. Getting out of the van, we all posed for more pictures and retrieved more things from the car, loaded up the mini-van and were on our way back to the motel.

After calling Lance to let him know that all is well, Corey and I walked down to the main building for dinner. That's when I saw Patrick and offered my thanks once again for all he'd done for us. But he had one more surprise: as manager of the motel's restaurant, he was taking care of our dinner! Corey and I had a wonderful meal and then Patrick showed us the route we should follow if we still want to get to the Petrified Forest. It will put us 20 miles over the allotted 209 included in the rental, so we'll see tomorrow how this truck is on gas and how badly I want to see either the Petrified Forest or an end to having to drive the truck!

A great big THANK YOU to all the wonderful people I've met today: William Yazzie Patrick Yazzie The women at the Visitors' Center The man from Louisville who left before I could get his name

The depth of the Canyon	The depth of the Canyon	A Navajo Artist/Vendor
Corey	Me	White House Ruins
White House "mouth" of the canyon wall	A closer look at the canyon wall	Descending from Canyon a cow on the roadside
Patrick, us & 24-foot truck	Car being towed from Canyon	Us with William

~*~ Recommended Reading ~*~

Click for product description/ordering information

Canyon de Chelly: The Story Behind the Scenery

Canyon de Chelly: The Continuing Story

Canyon De Chelly: Its People and Rock Art

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