The meeting time for the guided hike to Spider Rock was at 8:00 A.M., at the visitor center. I was surprised at how few folks showed up... maybe they go the time wrong? (I was still figuring out what time zone to use even though in Arizona, some areas are on New Mexico time).I figured with a free guided tour into the canyon there would be a lot of takers. Well...the ranger started off describing the hike as the most strenuous hike in the monument with at least a 1000 foot decent AND more than a then a ten mile round trip and that we would be lucky to get all the way to Spider rock and be back by 2:00 (his deadline, not mine). Hmmm. He went on to say that the day before they had to rescue someone who could not make all the way back and that there would be no personnel available to help out today if there was a problem. So, I don't know whether or not he was trying to scare us or didn't want a large group, but he managed to convince Sandi that she was not going to do this hike with a deadline looming and I wasn't so sure either. So we passed on the guided hike.
But wait! There was an option: the White House Trail to the bottom of the canyon is open to everyone, so off we went and I was not disappointed. It was a beautiful trail all the way to the bottom. The trail is well groomed and passes through several short tunnels.
The White House, named for it's what structure.
Some of the rock art near the ruins.
Another overview of the canyon floor.
The hike down was really easy, and the ascent back up was gradual and a piece of cake. We finished driving to the remaining over looks on the South Rim and then headed back to camp. It's best to drive the North Rim in the morning and the South Rim in the late afternoon to take advantage of the best light.
Sandi wanted to see the "busy" town of Chinle, so we took the rest of the afternoon and explored Chinle, which took all of ten minutes, and the found a laundry mat to do laundry (we were the only light skinned folks in the place) and then decided to splurge and eat out. The Junction Restaurant menu offered Navajo food, so I ordered a lamb sandwich on fry bread...not so good for the waist line, but delicious and the service was great.
Tomorrow is the big Jeep ride in the canyon. So stay tuned.
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