Gallup, NM/Canyon DeChelly

Several people we met told us that if we were near Canyon De Chelly (pronounced "De Shay"), that it was a must see. So we stopped overnight in Gallup, NM which is also on Route 66 - was fun to see the "66" signs, restaurants, and other businesses using the logo. Canyon De Chelly is a red rock canyon, very picturesque and unique for a couple of reasons. It is a national monument, administered jointly by the National Park Service and the Navajo Nation. It is entirely on Navajo land, and they run farms and ranches in the canyon valley.

There are roads on both sides of the rim, but the only way to get into the valley is by hiring a guide for a tour.

These views are typical. The canyon walls range several hundred feet up from the valley floor.

This pueblo village is four hundred years old. It was abandoned after a massacre of the natives by Spanish conquistadors.