Road Trip Tally States: NM AZ Miles: 400 Total_Miles: 4300 Keeper Photos: 200 Total: 2050 New Species Added: 4 Total Road Trip Bird List: 97 Added to Life List So Far This Trip: 10

So De Chelly does not rhyme with belly, as I learned the hard way in one of my typical social moments. It is “can-yn d-chay” according to the locals. This site was not well-known to me and not on my bucket-list destinations. However, it was utterly spectacular, both in its heritage and in its scenery. I suppose it was partly the time of day; I was there for the early sunlight. And it was partly the time of year; the grass was newly green and spring had the valley trees clad in those soft yellow-green leaflets that glow in the sunlight for a few days before the green deepens.

Canyon de Chelly is owned by the Navajo Nation. A number of Navajo families live in the park, and the ruins of ancient Anasazi civilizations are preserved there. Access to the canyon was only from the rim trail the day I visited, and my understanding is that access to the valleys below, where the indigenous people reside, is generally very limited.

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Canyon De Chelly Gallery

Bird List Species Added April 16-17

Additional Species

Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay (life species)
Northern Harrier
Chihuahuan Raven (life species)
Horned Lark