Day Two, Canyon de Chelly
Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de shay ) is a National Monument,
whose administration is shared between the US Park Service and the Navaho Nation.
It's a site that deserves to be visited both for its scenic beauty and for its archaeological interest.
It's a deep, straight-walled canyon,
with a flat alluvial plain at the bottom, which the ancient pueblans (Anasazi) cultivated.
A glimpse of the canyon floor. (You can hike down... if you're in great shape and somewhat insane...)
The ancient pueblans lived in pueblos (hey! I'll bet you hadn't guessed!) built high up in the canyon wall.
In case of an emergency, they just had to pull up the ladders...
Check out the size of the trees on the canyon floor.
Notice the round construction, half fallen down the slope. A kiva?
And if you look too long at the opposite wall of the canyon, you get vertigo...
Day Two was as exhausting as Day One...
Great photos, well done Bob.
Absolutely great photos of absolutely fantastic scenery. Keep them coming - I'm as fascinated by the photos you're taking of things I've never personally witnessed as other members are with my photos taken in China.
Are the trees white because it's still winter there?
I don't think so Buzz. There is a type of tree native to the area that looks white most of the time...I can't remembr the name.
Albino?
The palo verde is a tree that can live without leaves. Its bark is light green, loaded with chlorophyll. This may be a problem of color density - the trees may in fact be light green.
I haven't the faintest idea.