It is a long story how we recently became the new owners
of a 2007 Fleetwood Class A Terra LX34N motor home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
It all happened rather quickly with a La Mesa RV dealership while attending a
RV Show several days before the Balloon Fiesta began. It is a nice looking used motor home
with 25,000 miles, bunk beds, swivel leather front seats, extra kitchen counter
space, two slide outs, two TVs, large storage units below, a 180ยบ panoramic
front window view and a reasonable affordable price.  |
| Yikes let's not mention filling up at the gas pump |
With more amenities it didn’t take us long to consider
trading in our Class C Chateau and upgrading to this larger unit. JR seemed jazzed about the opportunity
and felt it wouldn’t be any problem driving a larger rig. Irrational or not we
like the possibility of more space for having the kids and grandkids on future
adventure trips. All within a matter of four hours we found ourselves negotiating
a deal to purchase the new rig.
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| Our travel bears enjoy sitting up high on the front dash board |
On
October 26th some four weeks later we transferred title and all our
belongings from the old road warrior Chateau into the new Terra LX and left
Albuquerque. The first day out we clicked off 234 miles northwest to Chinle,
Arizona and arrived to see the wondrous beauty of Canyon de Chelly.
The beautiful red rock
canyons can be viewed from numerous overlooks along the rim. However, what makes Canyon de Chelly
National Monument special is the opportunity to observe authentic Navajo culture
and history up close. At Canyon de Chelly (pronounced
"Shay") we spent the night and half a day exploring the various
overlooks along the canyon rim. The canyon itself has 800 ft high red rock
walls with lush green valleys throughout the floor of the canyon.
Wild horses were seen roaming freely around the canyon. The south rim
is way better than the north because it has more overlooks and better looking
ones at that.
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| Ramon a 12 year old Navajo artist |
At almost all the overlooks, there are Navajo artist selling
their art. We never came across any of them being pushy or rude. They are all
friendly and willing to help if needed especially explaining the symbols of the
various Indian designs.
I purchased several sandstone slate pieces with art
and a Navajo story teller small vase while JR merrily hiked out along the ledges of the canyon wall.
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| Thrill seeker JR has no sense of vertigo out on the edge |
The spire of Spider Rock is
the home of Spider Woman, one of the Dine (Navajo) deities. JR and I arrived at the end
of the south rim canyon drive just in time to capture good lighting before
sunset.
A full moon above the majestic red rocks of Canyon de Chelly added a
special touch to a perfect day.
