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Day #3
Hellen, Yeon and I checked out every outlook in the southern rim of Canyon de Chelly.  So pretty!  We did a 2 1/2 m hike to an Anastasi ruins called White House Ruins.  It was amazing to see the remains of a village built into the canyon wall.  We heard a herd of sheep but couldn't see them.  Spider Rock was the focus of one of the outlooks.  Navajo legend has it that the inhabitant of the rock, Spider Woman, taught the Navajo how to weave.

Keith took us out on the nearby mesa in his Jeep.  It was a really bumpy ride and I had a nasty headache but the sights were worth it.  When I think of off-roading, I always thought that you hit those crazy bumps going around 30 MPH or so but I guess you're really supposed to take them nice and easy.  The things you learn in the middle of nowhere.  We stopped by several rock formations.  The first one was just a pair of buttes.  The second one was a bridge.  My Nike cross-training shoes couldn't handle the sandy incline to the keyhole but Keith gave me a hand - literally.  Coming down also required me holding Keith's hand since I freaked out that I couldn't get a good foothold without sliding.  I felt like such a little girl!  The third butte was neat.  It was surrounded by a whole bunch of boulders so we sprawled out on them.  The idea was to watch the sunset from this spot but we just missed it.  No matter, it was still soothingly beautiful.  We heard a lone cow mooing in the distance and watched a swallow dive into her nest above us.  The last stop on our booney bumper ride was an overlook that gave us a fabulous view of Chinle.  Chinle at night is an impressive lake of lights though you would never guess that when you see it in the daytime.


Day #4
We hit Monument Valley, Three Turkeys ruins, and Keith's apartment.

Drove out to Monument Valley with Yeon.  We did the self-guided tour which was basically driving along a dirt road and stopping at the marked spots to check out the rocks.  It would've been much better if we went horseback riding but it was still gorgeous and it was kinda fun letting the car slide in the sand banks.  I bought my necklace from a vendor there.  We also saw our lambs there.  Yeon and I were eating lunch at a campground when a herd of sheep with goats walked through the grounds.  We fed an adventurous goat which was a signal to other aggressive ones.  I tried pushing one away but he  wasn't taking the hint; must've been a male.

Keith took us all out to an Anastazi ruin.  I had an amazing time there!  We drove on this crazy unmarked trail which looked barely wide enough for a hiking trail let alone a Jeep!  We backtracked just once before finding the entrance to a path.  We hiked down a steep trail into a valley.  Our quads were on fire but the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful!   The ruins were called Three Turkeys because of the pictographs on the back wall though I agree with Keith that they look more like flamingoes than turkeys!  After I got over the initial awe, I decided to climb this mini butte at the bottom of the canyon.  Hellen and Keith were following soon after and we managed to convince Yeon and a resident at the hospital to join us.  I should've tried harder to get to the very top but Hellen fell trying so that ruined my adventurous mood.

Keith's apartment was yet another amazing stop.  The entryway and the bathroom were tiled with stones he had collected from the area around his apartment!  He did a beautiful pencil drawing of Jennifer Aniston.  His coffee table had a glass top which was etched with an elaborate  Navajo design by a local artisan.  That was truly beautiful.  We tried to get him to play his guitar for us but he turned shy on us so we let that one slide.  Yeon and I tried copying a few of CDs from his expansive collection for our ride home but we got tired so we left one behind because it was getting too late.


Day #5
When we went to the car in the morning to load up, we found our last CD in a Ziploc bag on the windshield.  Thanks, Keith!  Other than that, there's not much to report on this day.  We just drove back to the airport.

This was most definitely the best vacation I've had.


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White House Ruins
Spider Rock