Sometimes a place calls to me with no rhyme or reason. Canyon de Chelly has jumped off the map for a number of years. It is off the main highways and requires a multi-hour detour through rugged landscape. Deep in Navajo country, the canyon has remained illusive. You have to mean to go there. It is not a stop on the way to somewhere else.

And so, for years I have looked longingly on the map and promised myself….someday. That day is today. We drive up from Holbrook via a stop at the Hubbell Trading Post. The government shut down closed the visitor center but the post is open for business as it has been for generations. Locals buy pumpkins from trucks near the parking lot.

Traveling on to canyon de Chelly, I am nervous that the park will be closed. Other sites have blocked entry for the duration of the shut down. I finally mean to go there. Will I be able?

We stop at the trading post near the entrance. It is bustling and the workers tell us just to stop at any of the lots that line the highway. That way we can enjoy the park at our own pace. Though atv and horseback tours are available, we generally prefer to self guide. It is a welcome suggestion.

The first stop does not disappoint. I am mesmerized by the size of the canyon. A sign reminds us that people live here still and that you must have a local guide take you into the canyon proper or you are trespassing.

It is beautiful in that surreal and haunting way in which nature screams for attention. I am moved. So I am surprised when a tall midwestern man comes barreling down the trail, pushes past me to the overlook and says “I don’t see what the big deal is. Not much of an overlook.” I exchange glances with his wife who rolls her eyes and eventually follows him back to the car. Wow.

For the next five hours, we hike and drive. Each canyon stop is unique and beautiful. There are pueblos in the rocks. Cliff dwellings appear in crevices giving glimpses of ancient civilizations. Wild horses roam the canyon floor. In the parking areas, native people sell art and jewelry. I buy a painted tile from a man who helped us find our way to a hidden lookout.

We picnic at the rim and walk down the path through ancient tunnels. Whether it is because of the season or the government shut down, there are almost no other people here. We have the place largely to ourselves. It is glorious. It was definitely worth the drive.

The canyon called and I finally answered.