The Vibration of Being

I’m not sure what to say about this experience with history. The buildings, grounds, and artifacts were interesting and informative but seeing, for the first time, a human scalp was deeply unsettling. The photo shows the hair and long braid with a small piece of scalp on a Plains Indian shield.  Jim did not share my feelings (which I am trying to understand myself). For him it was historical evidence similar to a skeleton or mummy. Perhaps the hair made it fresh and intimate for me. I have read that the white man was the instigator of scalping, asking the tribes who were fighting on their side to bring scalps to prove that they had killed the enemy. I don’t know if that is accurate or not. The information at the fort said that the custom of taking scalps was deeply rooted in the Plains Indians.   

We drove back roads along the Sante Fe Trail. I love the flat flatness where the sky lawns forever and the Kansas wind blows long. The growing humidity makes Tucson seems very far away.

 It was fun to see a little girl sitting in four states. Another child when called by her parents, who were standing in NM, said she couldn’t come because she was in CO.  

We spent the night in Durango and I went to see a foreign film, Namesake, which was character driven and very powerful. We left mid morning and drove through San Juan Mountains (about 10,000 feet). Fun to see snow.         I love watching clouds in the side mirror when I’m not driving. We’re in Alamosa, CO tonight at about 7, 400 feet.

Early this morning Jim and I hiked 500 feet into the canyon. The morning air was cool and the sun bright as diamonds. We were the only ones on the trail and the quiet except a buzzing fly and occasional bird was majestic. The trail was well maintained and a reasonable width (not as narrow as Grand Canyon). Way off in the distance the river and horses grazing. But it was the canyon walls that riveted my attention … the smooth reds, blacks, bronzes of nature … sheer drops of about 600 feet.    

After crossing a footbridge and coming up to the ruins I looked at some of the Navajo jewelry for sale. The craftsmanship was incredible … one double-sided pendant with a shadowbox insert of a semiprecious stone (red, and I can’t remember the name). Elaborate carved silver with miniature canyon views and Navajo symbols alongside very simple $5 bracelets. I enjoyed looking and some conversation with a woman who said she was born and raised in the canyon. Said her mother jumped off the horse and birthed her and that’s why she liked making jewelry with horse images. I did not buy anything and I walked away with complicated feelings … guilt for not buying … sadness about the Navajo history … and a sense of truly not knowing anything about the culture of this nation.  

The ruins were quiet yet the buildings and drawings on the rock wall spoke hauntingly in a language that I could not understand. Standing at the foot of the cliff I tried to imagine the people and their way of life. I wanted to catch a glimpse of their family gatherings, listen to their stories, feel their eyes focused on my eyes. An empty ache in my chest … a longing … and a deep gratitude that this sacred place was recognized as sacred and although tourists were allowed there were strict guidelines about where and when. Signs instructed us to not take pictures of the Navajo people without their permission. The White House Trail is the only trail that visitors can hike without a Navajo guide. Tours of the canyon are available from Thunderbird Lodge and I saw that they were either half day or full day ($66 per adult).

Pictures are helpful to give you a glimpse into a place but they can’t begin to convey the intensity and power of such a place.

After an early morning leaving on Wednesday, we had lunch in historic downtown Globe at Kelly’s Broad Street Brewery (brewery part not up and running yet). The antique cash register and the bar fascinated me, which was one of only ten made by the Brunswick Company in 1880. The wood is birds-eye mahogany . Incredible beauty. There was a gigantic tear-shaped chandelier (once hung in a bank in Italy) hanging from a big skylight. Lunch was ok. Kelly was our server and she said it was ok to take pictures.  

This poppy outside a Toyota dealer in Show Low caught my eye when I walked to BJs restaurant for breakfast. Had fun talking to it when I took the picture.   

On the drive from Show Low to Canyon de Chelly we stopped at the visitor center in Holbrook which also had a museum with lots of antiques to look at. Another cash register caught my eye.

I love being way out … the sky is so wide you can fill yourself up, over and over with it. Driving up through the Navajo Nation the land stretched and stretched until it touched the edge of mountains and cliffs far in the distance. The blue-purple of the far off hills iced with sheep-like clouds mesmerized me. Hard to drive when all you want to do is float off and join that herd of clouds. Jim and I had a conversation about how far you can actually see to the horizon … Jim saying about 50 miles, me thinking about 300 miles. I’ll have to ask the kids.

We’ll hike tomorrow and I’ll likely have something to say about it.

Jim and I leave May 23 for our drive across country … I am so excited and also sad to leave my friends and familiar routine. You’ll be hearing and seeing our trip as we go … get ready for fun.