THE NAVAJO NATION

The next day was another Bootcamp Bevan [i]early rise n hit the road smiling[/i] executed maneuver. From Moab we headed down 191 towards the Navajo Nation. Anne had some friends in Chinle, and I insisted we drive through Monument Valley for the full Southwest Experience.





The Navajo Nation is enormous. 26,000 miles. Bigger than 10 U.S. States. Suck on that Massachusetts. The population is about 170,000 people - just over 50% of all Navajos. The word Navajo was given to them by the Spanish, who first encountered them in the late 1500s. Some prefer to call themselves simply "Diné", which translates to "the people".

There was something exceptionally cool about being inside the United States with some of the original owners, who still speak their native language - the [i]original[/i] American language. English is a second language for all but some of the most recent generation, thus most have a distinct Navajo accent when talking to you in English. It reminded me of being in Holland and having everyone speak English to me, simply out of courtesy. You can't help but feel grateful for their accommodating nature and hospitality, whilst kicking yourself for being so ignorant and mono-linguistic.

The reservation is incredibly poor, much of it feeling like a third world country. The main industries appear to be sheep, cattle, and selling arts n crafts to tourists.

Water is scarce. Deadly scarce, as a matter of fact. They have been living through a water crisis for generations now, and it only gets worse. Much of this seems due to water diversion for Tucson & Phoenix, and the siphoning of springs necessary for coal production. The coal is mined on the reservation, then shipped via railroad to power plants that support the major cities, bypassing the reservation power grid altogether. It's no coincidence that many Navajo not only don't have running water, but they don't even have electricity. And the state of Arizona is removing water that is officially Navajo owned by government granted water rights, yet not a dime has ever been paid. Same as it ever was, huh? I am just beginning to learn about this, so please forgive my brief elementary overview.

In addition to a lack of water and power, the social ills of poverty abound. Unemployment tops 50%. Pile on rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, gang violence, etc., and you start to get a picture of how bleak things are, with little hope in sight.

CHINLE, ARIZONA - NAVAJO NATION

Chinle is very desolate. Tumbleweeds roll across the brown, cloudy plain, caught up in massive dust devils. Most people live in trailer homes, often way the out in the middle of nowhere like this dude. Others live in subsidized housing.





The last place I saw livestock grazing in weird, barren places like gas station parking lots was Jamaica.



In addition to being a third world country, it is also very much cowboy country. Rodeos are big news out there.



I came across some more wheat pastings by the guy I mentioned earlier





RANDOM OBSERVATION 04
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Chinle. To my wonder and amazement, Holiday Inns have these weird beige belts around the pillows, with a transparent, gelatinous, mauve green squares attached that tells you if the pillow is "hard" or "soft". If you get the 2-queen bed room, you end up with four of each to mix and match. I preferred the soft, if you must know.<



Don't feel bad, I too had to google "concho belt".





If you ask me, gas station magazine racks can say a lot about a community.