SWA20-Peoplev2

Originally uploaded by John Setzler.

One of my favorite destinations during my recent trek into the southwestern United States was Canyon de Chelly in northeastern Arizona. Our hike through the canyon was the longest hike of our trip. We hiked about 6 miles or so on this day. The hike wasn’t particularly difficult. It was mostly flat through the canyon basin, but much of the flat hike was through soft sand, and nearly a mile of it was through water. Lucikly, it wasn’t very hot. The skies were dotted with those puffy white cotton ball clouds and we had a slight breeze to cool the environment. The temperature was in the low 80s that afternoon. Most of our group fared very well along this hike. The ascent out of the canyon at the end of our hike got to a few people, but everyone was happy when we got back to our van.

The above photo pictures Eddie Draper. Eddie is a native horseback tour guide in Canyon de Chelly. He had a group of horseback riders with him when he stopped to say hello to us as we trodded through the water portion of our hike. I asked him if I could make his photo, and he gladly allowed me to do so. Normally, I wouldn’t ask permission to take a photo like this, but there are some specific rules for photography in this canyon. Photographers are not allowed to take photos of natives who live in the canyon, their personal housing, property, or livestock without permission. I didn’t know if he was a resident, and it never hurts to ask. I wanted to have his name to go along with my photo anyway, so asking was the only way to get it :)

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