Sacred Mountains Tour

Transcription

1 Owner: Paul Tohlakai, PO Box 1190, Pinon, Arizona USA 86510, phone: , Sacred Mountains Tour Navajo Trails L.L.C. Duration: 9 days Cost: $2,124 - Double Occupancy (4 Night Hotel Stays) $2,360 - Single Occupancy (4 Night Hotel Stays) Saturday, August 23 - Sunday, August 31, 2008 Saturday, September 6 - Sunday, September 14, 2008 Take a journey to the Dineh (Navajo) Sacred Mountains that will circumnavigate the Dineh ancestral land encompassing New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado within the four corners area. Participants will be taken on a passage of the body, mind, and spirit with opportunities to initiate connection to sacred land sites through the guidance of Navajo tour guide and elder, Paul Tohlakai. This unique experience will allow participants to gain a glimpse into aspects of the Dine cosmology and insight into the teachings of the Beauty Way. The group will commence the journey from Albuquerque, New Mexico in a traditional clockwise fashion visiting the four cardinal directional mountains en-route back to Albuquerque. Program: Activities involve responsible visitation to sacred sites with camping and other out-ofdoors activities; hiking, horse-back riding, campfire lectures-discussions, craft demonstrations, and story-telling. What to expect: Escape the confinements of convenience and enter the realm of everyday living out in nature. We will be in sync with natural time, weather, and places in accordance to Native American philosophy of living. Commit to nine days of personal journey that will help to re-examine one s life and gain insight into the distinctive worldview and wisdom of an Indigenous culture. Not only will participants delve into the beauty of the culture and vast landscape of the American southwest, you will gain an up-close and personal education on some of the

2 challenges that Native Americans face today and the importance of cross-cultural sharing for improving the quality of life for the people of all walks of life as well as for the natural environment. If so inclined, there will be opportunities to contribute to socio-economic depressed Native communities with volunteer agenda. All is not well in present state of affairs with America s original inhabitants. Weather and Clothing Wear: Summers are hot in the 90 s (Celsius), however evenings can be cool. Be prepared with proper clothing befitting seasonal weather changes. Good hiking shoes, hat, sunblock, and rain gear advised. Health: Obtain health clearance. Disclaimer available for any activities assumed by participants. Physical activities will not be excessive. Culture: Be prepared for any preconceived notions about what has been romanticized about Native American culture. We are like any other but with greater challenges as Indigenous people. Navajo Trails continues to educate both natives and non-natives alike regarding concerns for our future with respect to preserving culture and land. Have an open mind and heart. Day 1- Pick up at Albuquerque International Airport. Welcome dinner at Old Town Mexican Restaurant with orientation. Overnight stay at local motel. Day 2 Reveille at 7am, continental breakfast at motel and off to Chaco Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage and premier site of Pueblo culture between AD The Pueblo Peoples of New Mexico, the Hopi of Arizona, and the Navajo all have cultural and spiritual ties to this once major urban site renown for its remarkable ceremonial buildings, engineering projects, astronomy, artistic achievement, and distinctive architecture. Native Americans from the Four Corners region return to Chaco Canyon today on pilgrimages to honor their ancestors. After hiking the canyon, we will settle in to our overnight encampment. Lunch and dinner will be provided by Navajo Trails crew. The evening will include Navajo cultural orientation with a brief protocol for visiting sacred sites. Around the campfire we will enjoy drumming-singing and storytelling. Day 3 Reveille at 6am and breakfast at camp. We will drive the scenic back roads to Window Rock, Arizona, a red stone arch and mystical rock formation that is an important part of the Dineh cosmology. The town of Window Rock is the site of the Navajo Nation Capital. We will visit the Council Chambers Museum, structured into the shape of a monumental Hogan, the traditional building of the Navajo, which stands as a tangible symbol of modern Indian Tribal self-government. Inside a mural depicts The history and Progress of the Navajo Nation. The next stop will be in Granado, Arizona at the Historic Hubbell Trading Post, the oldest continuously operated trading post

3 on the Navajo Nation. The trading post is still active, trading with members of the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni and other tribes. Quality, Native American arts and crafts are available for purchase, as well as turn-of-the-century relics. We turn south through parts of the scenic Painted Desert, where we are treated to a display of the world s largest and most colorful concentration of multi-hued badlands and containing 225 million year old fossils. We move on to Flagstaff, Arizona where we camp overnight. After settling in, we will visit the sacred white buffalos north of town. The white buffalo is of great spiritual importance and is revered by many Native American tribes. The birth of the white buffalo fulfills a 2000 year-old prophecy. Included will be a hike part way to Shimmering Mountain. Group will participate in the offering to the mountain ceremony. The evening meal will be at participant s expense at a local eatery. Day 4 Rising with the morning star or near dawn, we will begin our day. Breakfast will be at a downtown diner (at tour participants expense) before we head out to the panoramic Grand Canyon. Unparallel throughout the world, the Grand Canyon has been carved and shaped mainly by the Colorado River, flowing almost a mile (5000 vertical feet) below our stop at the south rim. We will experience one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World with short hikes above and below the rim. Our next destination is Tuba City, Arizona to visit and explore the Navajo Interactive Museum, dedicated to preserving and interpreting the rich culture of the Navajo Nation. We will lunch in Page, AZ (at participant's expense), and check in at the Quality Inn Hotel in Page, and then on to Lake Powell in Page, Arizona. This magnificent desert canyon reservoir boasts a total shoreline of over 2000 miles with spectacular red rock towers, blue-green water, and beaches of rosy sand. Dinner in Page, AZ will be at participant's expense. Day 5 The group will assume a day of leisure and relaxation on Lake Powell and enjoy the many water sport activities offered. Late Morning (around 11am) trip to Antelope Canyon. A spectacularly beautiful rainwater and wind carved crevice, Antelope Canyon is a photographer s delight! We will lunch together in the town of Page (Lunch will be at participant s expense.) before heading for the lake at Wahweap campgrounds-beach. In evening, we drive to nearby Marble Canyon, to watch the sunset. Dinner will be prepared by Navajo Trails Staff. Day 6 - After breakfast, we will continue on to the world-renown Monument Valley, comprised of panoramic monoliths that rise out of the Colorado Plateau in colorful layers of sandstone, siltstone and shale. This awe-inspiring land of the Navajos continues to marvel all those who visit and has been the setting for many Hollywood western movies. Join us as our Navajo Guide interprets as only they can of their history and spiritual

4 connection to this timeless place of scenic wonder. Driving north, we will enter the realm of Big Sheep Mountain (Dibe Nitsaa), the sacred mountain to the north, with encampment near Mancos, Colorado. We will hike down Mesa Verde. Spanish for Green Table, Mesa Verde was the home of the ancestral Pueblo People for over seven centuries, from AD 600-AD To date, the park protects over 4000 most notable and best preserved archeological sites in the U.S., including 600 imposing cliff dwellings as well as village remains on the mesa top. After emerging from the canyon, we will have a picnic lunch, then ride up the northern mountain for more hiking and communing with nature. Horse Riding (optional) at Participants Expense. The evening will find us in Durango, Colorado with an overnight stay in a motel and evening dinning in town. Dinner will be at participant s expense. Day 7 - Leaving Durango, we will travel through the magnificent Southern Rockies to the Dine Eastern Sacred Mountain of White Shell Mountain (Tsisnaasjini' ) officially called Mount Blanca. This sprawling mountain is a site of significant importance to many Native American tribes for vision quest, pilgrimages, and contemplative practices. There will be an opportunity to hike and cool off at the lush Zapata Falls. Included in the schedule is a visit to the nearby town of Crestone Colorado. Nestled in the San Luis Valley and ringed by the spectacular alpine display of the San Juans to the west and the Sangre de Cristos to the east, the town and purpose of Crestone developed with guidance by Native American elders. It is now the largest international, interfaith spiritual community in North America. We will then head to the eastern side of the remote, high-mountain San Luis Valley, to the Great Sand Dunes National Park, the tallest sand dunes in North America, rising to almost 750' above the valley floor. The dunes are continually being re-sculptured by the wind. Participants will have great fun hiking and sliding down the dunes. We will camp within the national park. The evening display of stars is especially brilliant here. The program will include Dine star knowledge around the fire. Day 8 - Upon cleanup of campsite, we head south to charming Taos, New Mexico, a town rooted in both the Pueblo and Spanish culture where we will visit the town s prominent feature and origins, the historic Taos Pueblo. The Taos Pueblo People live at the foot of the majestic Taos Mountains, towering 14,000 feet over the Rio Grande River Valley in Northern New Mexico. The Taos Pueblo, The Place of the Red Willows, is an internationally renowned Native American community and has been designated both a World Heritage Site and a National Historic Landmark. The multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years. The people of the Taos Pueblo are called the Red Willow people and speak their native Tiwa language as well as English. (Entrance fee required) and lunch there at own expense.

5 Continuing south along the twisting Rio Grande River, we will explore the possibility of the various Pueblo native seasonal activities, before reaching our destination, the capital of New Mexico, Santa Fe for enjoyment and relaxation. The town is celebrated for its high concentration of artists and galleries, the natural flora beauty of the surrounding landscape, many historical places of interest, and its world class museums. The overnight stay is included. A late afternoon and evening of shopping and fine dinning are available at your own expense. Navajo Trails staff member will be available in evening for consultation, discussion and visitors comments in a continuing effort to provide quality tours. Day 9 - Shuttle in the morning to Albuquerque airport for departures.