Canyon de Chelly tours

[Pat Kearns]

The wife & I are planning a trip to Canyon de Chelly around Sept 22 and 23. Are there any recommended tourguides that we should contact for a guided trip of the canyon?

[Sirius Glass]

If I remember correctly what one of my friends said, it is easy to get a good guide when you get there.

Steve

[BOB MURPHY]

Pm Sent

[Eric Rose]

Now Bob, why don't you want to share??

[BOB MURPHY]

I sent PAT a heads up on the REZ not being on the same time as the reat of the state. Pat said he knew. My wife and I went there about 20 years ago and we missed our tour because of this. Anyway a beautiful place to do photography.

[BOB MURPHY]

Rest of the state. Sorry about the spelling.

[Jim Michael]

AZ does not observe DST and Navajo Nation does. Not sure about Hopi time. Good place to buy Hopi silver is Second Mesa.

Re the Canyon tours, the most common when I was there about 20 years ago was what the Navajo call the 'shake & bake' where they put the tourists on a flatbed trailer and tow them through the area with a tractor. Sounds like you are looking for a private guide to take you around. Did you find this tour operator (http://www.canyondechellytours.com)? Looks like they do both.

Don't forget to carry extra water with you in your vehicle and buy gas when you get the opportunity.

[Sirius Glass]

If I remember correctly what one of my friends said, it is easy to get a good guide when you get there.

Steve

I checked with my friend.

When he got there, my friend hired a private guide, who used his own [the guide's] four wheel drive vehicle to take him around. That way my friend did not have a crowd to deal with and the guide let him have all the time he wanted to take photographs at each place they stopped.

[Pat Kearns]

I googled Canyon de Chelly tours first and there are quite a number of tours. I was looking for a recommendation to a particular guide that someone might have used and thought highly of. I'm looking at a private rather than large troop transport tour.

[Steve Gledhill]

I checked with my friend.

When he got there, my friend hired a private guide, who used his own [the guide's] four wheel drive vehicle to take him around. That way my friend did not have a crowd to deal with and the guide let him have all the time he wanted to take photographs at each place they stopped.

Same - except that we hired a guide who drove our vehicle.
That was a good few years ago. I'll be back for a second visit in September.

[rdenney]

There is (or at least used to be) a trail from the rim overlooking the White House Ruin down into the canyon, which anybody with feet can take. Then you can take what you want, spend all the time you want, and return at your leisure. The elevation change at that point is about 700 feet as I recall--not that bad a climb, with a manageable camera rig.

But don't leave valuables in the car in Canyon de Chelly overlook parking areas, though at the mouth of the canyon (where the tours leave from) is the safest of the locations.

Rick "who has done both the tour and the hike at various times" Denney

[Pat Kearns]

Rick, I did the hike down to White House Ruins back when the Hunta Virus flared up about 20 years ago when I was shooting MF. I know what the hike is like. We would like to see some of the other areas available with a guide.

[rdenney]

Rick, I did the hike down to White House Ruins back when the Hunta Virus flared up about 20 years ago when I was shooting MF. I know what the hike is like. We would like to see some of the other areas available with a guide.

Yes, there are other areas to see. When I did the tour, though, we only stopped at the White House Ruin, and that was the only place I could photograph in any case. I suspect a private tour will be your best bet. I had a shot at a private tour once--we were friends with a couple who taught at the boarding school in Nazlini and they could have driven us into the Canyon on their own authority--but we didn't have time. Still kicking myself over that one.

Rick "have fun" Denney

[wclavey]

My wife, son & I hired horses and a Navajo guide and did an extensive tour of Canyon de Chelley. We spent about 10 hours total in the valley and saw Whitehouse and several other places to photograph. The guide was not too accurate on the actual archaeology of the place, but she sure knew where the sites were. Several shake & bakes went blasting by while we were there and we were glad we were not on them. It was a hard ride but we were glad we did it.

[don12x20]

Go early to the visitor center and query the various guides standing around to find the one you want to hire.
(NOTE: White Man's Time has little meaning on the Rez. Only sun is 2 fingers above the horizon has meaning (time to bring the sheep in)). So be sure to ask a potential quide if they are able to stay in the canyon until late. Some guides will want to return to the canyon mouth early in the afternoon.

[mgonzale]

I spent 7 hours in the canyon a few weeks ago, driving my own truck. I liked the guide we hired through the Holiday Inn in Chinle. His name is Kenneth. My wife was with me, so we didn't spend a lot of time at each location like I would if I were by myself.

If you planned on making this a photography-centric trip into Canyon de Chelly, then you'd gain a lot by getting to each location at its most photogenic time. Antelope House, for instance, can either be pleasant to look at or enveloped with absolutely gorgeous soft light depending on the time you are there. When I was there on a John Sexton workshop two years ago his schedule was such that each stop was planned to get the best light at that particular time of day. He hired a guide through the Thunderbird Lodge. I don't recall the guide's name. Maybe you could email John or call the Lodge to get more info?

Mario

[Paul Cunningham]

Does anyone have any updates from the last couple of years? I'd like to visit there in mid-March. Paul

[Luis-F-S]

You might want to check with the National Park Service or whomever is in charge of the Visitor Center, at one time they had a walking tour with a park guide down to the floor and got to see and photograph several of the sites. As my last visit was some 20 years ago, I have no idea as to what is presently available, but would love to find out what your experience is. L

[Drew Wiley]

Don't underestimate the shots you can get from across the canyon from some of the higher turnouts with a long lens.

[Paul Cunningham]

Don't underestimate the shots you can get from across the canyon from some of the higher turnouts with a long lens.

My longest lens is 360mm on 4x5, but 300 is more practical.


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[Drew Wiley]

It's been a long time, but I found a 360 perfect at the rim directly across the canyon from the ruins. But it was November light. I don't recall how many times I briefly went there. But the best Mex-Tex food I've ever eaten was in a tiny restaurant inside a Navajo trailer house just outside Kayenta. My stomach can't handle spicy stuff now. But from the Can rim, the angular light made out every bit of texture in the swirly sandstone above the ruin, and all the hand-hold the Anasazi had pecked in the cliff.

[Pat Kearns]

Does anyone have any updates from the last couple of years? I'd like to visit there in mid-March. Paul

Sorry, I should have updated everyone after our trip. I had contacted John Sexton and he said to check with the hotels in the area because they can get in touch with guides in the area. We stay at the Holiday Inn at the entrance and they booked a tour guide for us. I don't remember the price but it was very reasonable. The guide's first name was Kay and we left around 6:00 am in his 4WD truck. We stopped at about 5 different sites before White House Ruins which was the last site visited and the tour lasted 5 hours. Kay was very personable and the tour was very enjoyable. Mid-March should be a good time to visit but check weather conditions you never can tell what the weather will bring. My wife and I were out in the southwest at the end of April 2017 and there was a sudden winter storm that dropped 6 inches of snow on us in Santa Fe two days before we left. My wife said two days ago that the southwest was calling her and I said it has been calling me to. Make the trip, I don't think you will regret it.
Pat