Navajo County Arizona

Experiencing Arizona from a bird’s eye view

In my opinion, there is no better way to experience the northeastern corner of Arizona, known as Indian Country, than from a bird’s eye view.

But to gain a better understanding of its people, its inner beauty, and what is sacred, one must also make contact with the land.

From Mother Earth, I connect with the broadly sweeping landscape at two levels. Scenic Airlines’ “Secrets of the Southwest” tour allows me both vantage points, and because of this I develop a deeper appreciation of the vaulting stone symbols of Navajo country in a place of monumental majesty, Monument Valley.

My excursion takes flight from Scottsdale with my pilot Bob Armstrong, who has been flying with Scenic for 15 years. Due to inclement weather, my journey will not include a flight over the Grand Canyon as originally planned.

In minutes we are airborne over landscapes that defy the imagination. The configuration of the land with its layered cliffs, mesas, and buttes, forms a stunning geometric motif. As we enter the Verde River Valley, our flight path follows the brilliant emerald tributary that is the Verde River. Its brilliant green color is courtesy of the algae growth in the hot summer months.

Our cruising altitude is almost 5,000 feet, and the Mogollon rim from this elevation resembles layers of soft chalk. Forming the southern edge of the Colorado plateau, it separates the northern high plateau area of the state from the southern desert area. The change in elevation is evident in ample vegetation, with the area receiving approximately 20 inches of precipitation annually, two to three times more than Phoenix.

Prior to our descent into Monument Valley, I see a massive ring-shaped bowl with moonscape qualities. The prerecorded Scenic Tour’s info-tape identifies it as a 20,000-year-old meteor crater. “A huge meteorite struck the earth here with an equivalent force of 15 million tons of TNT. The result displaced several millions tons of earth and left a crater 4000 feet wide, by 500 feet deep.”

It has been said that the Navajos have always felt blessed by beautiful lands. Their reverence to Monument Valley is permeated with traces of their native ancestry, apparent in their homes and hearts. They are peaceful, gentle people, eager to share with others their chosen lifestyle.

In this valley I sense a serene state of permanence, a feeling created by the 400 to 1200-foot stone monoliths, seemingly arranged in a divine manner. This landscape has a definite spirit within, and now I feel I understand the Navajo’s continuing mystical bond with nature.

Monument Valley, once labeled, “land of long shadows,” sprawls over 30,000 acres in northern Arizona and the southern Utah border. Spectacular formations, 50 million years old, make up this rock garden of Eden.

The Monument Valley’s brochure says, “For hundreds of millions of years, layer upon layer of eroded sediment from the early Rocky Mountains was deposited in the basin and cemented into rock, mainly sandstone and limestone. A slow, gentle uplift created by constant pressure from below the surface elevated the horizontal strata. What was once a basin became a plateau of solid rock 1000 feet high. The simple wearing down of alternate layers of hard and soft rock slowly created the natural wonders of Monument Valley.”

These statues take the shape of animals, mythical creatures, and material images, reflecting a deep and spiritual meaning to the Navajos. Some noteworthy formations include El Capitan, known as ‘‘Indian fighter,” The Bear and Rabbit, The Totem Pole, Brigham’s Tomb (named for Mormon leader Brigham Young) and The Three Sisters, which resemble three Catholic nuns.

An authority on this land, Dennis devotes his days escorting visitors around Monument Valley. A native Navajo, he lives on the reservation with his wife and three daughters, openly sharing with others his people’s history and this sacred land.

“Not many people know about this place,” says Dennis, as we board the tour van.

“They’ve probably seen the movies with scenes from Monument Valley in them and don’t know it. Forrest Gump, Back to the Future III, Thelma and Louise, Waiting to Exhale , and Vacation with Chevy Chase, were all filmed here,” he says. On an unpaved, sandstone road, we continue our drive around monuments of ponderous proportions.

Further exploration leads into restricted territory, made accessible to us with Dennis as an authorized guide. He takes me to visit a Navajo dwelling occupied by a resident local.

“Ya-at-eeh,” I greet Suzy in her native tongue. She smiles in acknowledgement of my saying hello with a meager measure of facial wrinkles contradicting her age of 90 years. A widow, and great, great grandmother of 30 grandchildren, Suzy is still very active and going strong.

I am fascinated by her independent means in which she earns her modest living. She shows me how to prepare wool for creating rugs and blankets. She thins out a clumpy piece by “carding the wool,” combing it back and forth between two oversized wire hair brushes. The loom behind her displays a portion of an unfinished blanket, a glimpse at the destiny of the raw wool she is refining.

Her home is sparsely furnished, but rich with color, the curved walls adorned with her handmade creations, blankets, rugs, pottery, and intricate bead work. “Each design has its own meaning and many have been passed down for generations,” says Dennis. Her life has been dedicated to expressing to the outside world all of her past and present. “Taa altso shinaagoo hoogo naashaa doo,” she says, which Dennis tells me, means, “With beauty around me I walk.”

Before my departure, I am treated to a traditional Navajo taco at Goulding’s Restaurant and Lodge. Unlike the hard shell Tex-Mex version, this delicacy is a thick fluffy piece of fried bread, piled high with ground beef, beans, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. It is essentially a tostada, but prepared on fried bread, flavorful and heartier than its crunchy counterpart.

Within this tribal park there is a divine symmetry surrounding me wherever I go. The landscape envelops a striking balance of Navajo philosophy and a terrestrial energy, echoed in the spirited force behind nature. Monuments have for ages governed this land, communicating to all who visit. The Navajo’s land speaks all languages. “May everything be in harmony, may we walk in beauty, may we live in peace and harmony,” goes a popular Navajo prayer. Regardless of creed or culture, for mankind, this will always be a universal wish.

If you go:

Scenic AirlinesSuite 107, 15000 N. Airport Rd. Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 (602) 991-8252 1- (800) 445-8738Fax: (602) 991-0366; www.scenic.com/ E-mail: res@scenic.com

Secrets of the Southwest:Adult: $336 Child $306Approx. 8 hours.

Goulding’s Monument Valley Lodge and ToursP.O. Box 1Monument Valley, Utah 84536(801) 727-03231 Fax (801) 727-3344; www.gouldings.com/

Monument Valley Tribal Park; www.desertusa.com/monvalley/

Author: Tracey Rayson