SPIDER ROCK OVERLOOK

 I was getting more and more excited as we drove in towards Chinle' and Canyon De Chelly, Stuart’s eyes and mine kept looking up at the sky and we knew it was going to be a spectacular sunset. We got to the visitor’s center for the canyon, except there was one strange thing, no canyon, at least I couldn’t see it.

 We got started right away driving towards the Spider Rock Overlook and you could sense everyone becoming more and more anxious. The special thing about Canyon De Chelly is that you have no idea that it’s there until you’re right there hanging over the edge (see picture above). You look over and all of a sudden a 1500 ft. drop into the Earth, a vast seam of brilliantly colored rocks formed and molded by the whispering winds that echo throughout the canyon walls.

 The first thing you see at the overlook is Spider Rock, an amazing geologic wonder; an isolated tower that shoots up out of the middle of the canyon. Spider Rock is said to be the place where Spiderwoman descended down upon the people and taught them how to weave the magnificent fibers that give the Navajo people life.

 The sunset that evening was absolutely spectacular. The entire experience seemed very moving to a few of the people in the group. The first person I saw at the overlook was Shannon, completely draped over the edge of the canyon, her back straight up, sitting cross-legged and almost seemed stiff as a board. However, I’ve never seen someone that was so fixed and tense, yet so relaxed and calm at the same time.

 There was an older Navajo man playing a traditional flute at the overlook. The “double-barrel” flute with its deep longer tones and higher melodic dancing really added a whole new level to the experience of the sunset. Never in my life had I seen a place so wrapped up in color, warmth, and voices of every kind. Colors of the rocks, painted by fire, the trees green with life, the clouds blue and gray like the damp cool air, the sun’s rays reaching out and warming our faces. Then there were the voices, the voice of the flute, of the winds whispering along the canyon walls, the crows calling at the last light of the day, and then just when you were getting into it and feeling everything, caught up in the moment, there’s Pete talking with Andrew and all of a sudden blurts out with his unforgettable laugh “Ahhh Hee hee hee!!! Ahh hee hee hee!!! I guess the sunset can’t last forever.
 

David Hart