Getting a glimpse of Chinle and Canyon de Chelly on our White House Hike

         Today was amazing and tiring! I got to see more of the Navajo Nation with Laura and Anita, Laura's mom, and hiked the White House trail. First, we drove out to Ganado, which is about two hours from Holbrook. As we traveled to Ganado, we saw a couple of interesting sights. Along the way, we could see the houses of some of the Navajo people that were distantly separated from each other. At almost every house area, there would be a hut-looking kind of house, which (from what I can remember) could be used for special ceremonies such as weddings and tribe meetings. Then there would be grouped or single horses roaming near the road. There were also dogs and bunnies along the road too. Some of the horse could have been stray horses, because caring for a horse can require a lot of money, or the owners could have just allowed them out to roam.
            The first stop was the Hubbell Trading Post, which was one of the oldest operating trading post in Ganado, which was one of the towns we visited. Hubbell sold groceries, grain, hardware, horseshoes, Strawberry Jalapeno jam, coffee, and Native American Art. The place was reminiscent of an old place where Indians and foreigners would trade their goods.
           Our next stop was a plaza in Chinle. Anita was curious about seeing the fabric that was unusually sold in the ACE Hardware store, so we made a stop inside the store. There are pictures in another post. Our next stop was the Bashas, which was the local Navajo supermarket. It was similar to the Mexican supermarkets that I had been to in San Bernardino, but these had horse saddle blankets on top of the big freezers. These Navajo stores that we visited each had an interesting touch of Navajo in them.
            Then we went hiking! I was really excited inside, because I love hiking with my friends at home, but I forgot how tiring it would be, especially on the White House trail, because there was a steep elevation to go down through. However, once we reached the bottom, we absorbed the beauty of the cliff walls with the black liquid falling down on the walls and the crumbled White Pueblo House, with nearby pteroglyphs painted by the ancestors of the Navajo people. Going back up the trail was so tiring for me, because I had not been exercising regularly since finals. However, Laura and Anita were both gracefully walking without any pain. Fortunately, we took a short break. I was ready to fall asleep after we reached the top and, fortunately, I did in the car! When we reached the Chinle SDA School and Church, I was awaken by the tremendously bumpy road. The area around the school was some rundown home and lots of dry grass and dirt. We got to meet the missionary teacher there and about six kids that were finishing up their homework. Unlike most of the students in Holbrook, these kids do not live on campus, but their parents have to bring them there if they are capable.
              Arizona is a place where there is a lot of culture and terrain that the Navajo people cherish. Our trip today was a great opportunity to get a glimpse of how the Navajo society functions and the beauty in their cherished places.