One of the places we wanted to stop at was Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.  Before we left we read a book by Douglas Preston called Talking to the Ground.  It was the story of the trip he took with his girlfriend and her daughter  through the area in 1992.  Their story was alternated in the book with the Navajo Creation Legend.  He described their 400 mile ride on horseback through the reservation.  They followed the path taken by one of the Navajo Gods, Monster Slayer, in the creation story.

We found the Spider Rock Campground which is operated by Howard Smith.  He lead us to a nearby ranch that offered all day horseback rides into the canyon.  We signed on for the ride departing the next morning.

This wasn't your typical, "nose to butt", horseback ride that you get when you go to most places.  The trail was steep and challenging and the horses were not "mindless zombies".  They needed to be guided and reassured by human contact during the ride.  There was another couple with us, so it was very enjoyable to be in a small group.

Monika's horse was the mother to a young foal who followed us on the trip, as did the ranch dog.  The whole lot of us rode down the steep trail on the canyon side, all the way down to Spider Rock.

We got off the horses and ate lunch and spent some time talking with our guide.

His name was Terrill, and we told him about reading the book before we left.

He told us that he remembered the trip that Preston took, and that he was even mentioned in the book.  When we got back to the ranch, we showed him the book.  He had one look at the cover and said,"That's me in the white hat on the left."

What a coincidence to have met up with a person we had read about.

In my opinion, this whole experience was the highlight of the trip.  Being on the reservation was a wonderful experience.  We all wish it could have been longer (and we'll probably go back.)