Starting in AZ, briefly crossing into UT and ending in NM you can imagine today was a busy one.
Our first stop was the Navajo National Monument in AZ. Down a short trail we walked to an overlook and saw the remnants of what was once a small village. The remains are so fragile you cannot go inside them, but at the overlook, seeing the valley below you, its easy to imagine homesteading on the edge of a rock face.
We then drove to Monument Valley, crossing over into UT. Monument Valley is best known for being the backdrop for many westerns, most notably "Stagecoach" and "Searchers." As we drove we pictured cowboys riding alongside. "Easy Rider" and "Forrest Gump" were also shot in the area.
Our final site for the day was Canyon de Chelly. The National Park had been highly recommended by friends and we went with high expectations. The amazing views of the canyon did not disappoint and the drive was wonderful. There was, however, something quite different about this park. Located in the middle of a reservation, in eastern AZ, far removed from any major cities there is a desperate poverty, the worst we have ever seen, and surely near North America's poorest. As we drove the landscape grew more and more disheartening. Wild dogs roamed along the highway, several dead on the roadside. Everywhere we stopped, including within the park itself, we encountered someone asking for money.
No one was unkind or pushy. One young woman asked us for money for food for her and her baby. Another came up to our rolled up window, knocked, and asked for change. In other spots in America we, unshowered, in a rusted 20-year-old van that is clearly our home, might be the ones given spare change. Other areas we've gone through seem to have considered tourists and tried to redirect them around unpleasantness, but here the poverty was overwhelming. We were intellectually aware these areas existed, and have been through several Native American lands on our trip, seemingly a bit more prosperous, here was heartbreaking to witness. We were unprepared.
We crossed into New Mexico where we settled in for the night.
Our first stop was the Navajo National Monument in AZ. Down a short trail we walked to an overlook and saw the remnants of what was once a small village. The remains are so fragile you cannot go inside them, but at the overlook, seeing the valley below you, its easy to imagine homesteading on the edge of a rock face.
We then drove to Monument Valley, crossing over into UT. Monument Valley is best known for being the backdrop for many westerns, most notably "Stagecoach" and "Searchers." As we drove we pictured cowboys riding alongside. "Easy Rider" and "Forrest Gump" were also shot in the area.
Our final site for the day was Canyon de Chelly. The National Park had been highly recommended by friends and we went with high expectations. The amazing views of the canyon did not disappoint and the drive was wonderful. There was, however, something quite different about this park. Located in the middle of a reservation, in eastern AZ, far removed from any major cities there is a desperate poverty, the worst we have ever seen, and surely near North America's poorest. As we drove the landscape grew more and more disheartening. Wild dogs roamed along the highway, several dead on the roadside. Everywhere we stopped, including within the park itself, we encountered someone asking for money.
No one was unkind or pushy. One young woman asked us for money for food for her and her baby. Another came up to our rolled up window, knocked, and asked for change. In other spots in America we, unshowered, in a rusted 20-year-old van that is clearly our home, might be the ones given spare change. Other areas we've gone through seem to have considered tourists and tried to redirect them around unpleasantness, but here the poverty was overwhelming. We were intellectually aware these areas existed, and have been through several Native American lands on our trip, seemingly a bit more prosperous, here was heartbreaking to witness. We were unprepared.
We crossed into New Mexico where we settled in for the night.
Navajo Monument
Canyon de Chelly
Canyon de Chelly
Canyon de Chelly
No comments:
Post a Comment