The name of the canyon sounds French, but it is actually Navajo, and it means something like "among the rocks". The Navajo word "tseyi", however, was first misunderstood by the Mexicans, then misspelled by the Americans. Today it is pronounced "de Shay".The map - a section of the Auto Club's "Guide to Indian Country" -" shows the location of the canyon: in the North-East corner of Arizona, on the vast Navajo reservation, pretty much in the center of nowhere. The closest town is Chinle, from he Navajo word Ch‘ínílí meaning "Water Outlet", right at the mouth of the canyon. It is about 700 miles from Irvine, where we live, and we took two days for the drive. I have marked the map with the directions to some landmarks.
Canyon de Chelly is a National Monument, administered by the National Park Service. Admission to the monument is free, however, to enter the canyon (with the exception of one particular trail,) one must be accompanied by a NPS employee or by a NPS licensed Navajo guide.
"Begay" is the most common name in the tribe - it actually means "son of" and is based on another misunderstanding. Their Elderhostel class is titled Canyon de Chelly: Enduring Traditions and Modern Challenges. It is very popular and we got the last open spaces when I registered (on the Internet) on January 31. In fact, they had added additional classes to the one originally planned. This resulted in a problem: some of the lecturers they usually had were not available. However, they managed to find substitutes and almost all lectures were excellent.
There was a problem, however: as a protected landmark the walls of the existing buildings could not be changed. The architect found a unique solution: from the road it still appears to be Garcia's Trading Post. If one enters the parking lot, the main building looks like the typical adobe structure of the south-west. The large canopy in front of the entrance was originally the ugly metal roof of the trading post's gas station - before it was transformed by wrapping it in adobe.
Set back from the street are two new buildings with the 108 guest rooms, two storied and also in adobe style. The rooms were large and the inn was one of the best accommodations we have found on Elderhostel trips. Chinle is at an elevation of 5,000 feet and the morning after our arrival there was frost on the cars and the trees were all barren. In the photo, taken a few days later, spring has come to Chinle and the trees have started to green.
The Chinle Holiday Inn has one feature, which might be unique: a group of friendly cats and dogs that socialize with the guests. One black-and-white tom named "Lucifer" belonged to the manager, the other ones were just visiting. Our special friend was one kitty who seemed to have a permanent bad hair day. She liked scrambled eggs, and we were not the only ones who brought her a share of breakfast.
Of course, the most important component for a successful Elderhostel class has not been mentioned yet: our fellow students. As on all the other classes we have attended before, we met many interesting people and we enjoyed their company. Somehow there never was a chance for a "class photo", so the photo at left, which shows part of the group waiting for the off-road open vehicle that took us into the canyon, will have to do.