Pictures from Arizona

Explore Native American Spirituality and Culture in Arizona The Navajo, Hopi and Hualapai Indians

Led by:

Barbara Billings
The Church of the Redeemer
Bryn Mawr, PA

June 14 – 20, 2008

Trip map

DAY 1, Saturday, June 14, 2008 - Depart Philadelphia, PA for Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Upon arrival we will meet our guide and bus driver.  We will travel to Window Rock, Arizona the administrative center of the Navajo Nation, which received its name from the hole in the 200 foot high sandstone hill located there.  We will see Window Rock and the Navajo Veteran’s Memorial, built to honor the men who served in the US military as Navajo Code Talkers in World War II.  These veterans used the native language to create a code that was never broken by the enemy.  We will shop for some groceries for our stay at Good Shepherd Mission and continue on to Fort Defiance for overnight.  Accommodations, meals and activities while at Fort Defiance were made by Church of the Redeemer.

DAY 2: Sunday, June 15, 2008 - Today we will worship and share a pot-luck lunch local people at Good Shepherd MissionGood Shepherd Mission has existed as the Episcopal Mission to the Navajo since 1894, serving the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of the community.  The Episcopal Church in Navajoland has long prided itself on efforts to integrate the Navajo Language and spirituality within its expression of Christian faith and life.  In the afternoon we hike to the prehistoric Anasazi Ruins.  Overnight Good Shepherd Mission.  Accommodations, meals and activities for today were made by Church of the Redeemer.

DAY 3: Monday, June 16, 2008 - Today we visit Canyon de’ Chelly, home to several periods of Indian culture dating from 350 A.D to 1300 AD.  We learn about Southwestern Indian history from the earliest Anasazi basket makers to the Navajo Indians who live and farm here today.  We will see the 26 mile canyon’s sheer cliffs which range from 30 to more than 1,000 feet tall, and ruins of Indian villages built at the base of these cliffs and in canyon wall caves.  Overnight Fort Defiance.  Accommodations, meals and activities for today were made by Church of the Redeemer.

DAY 4: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 - Today our bus driver will meet us at Good Shepherd Mission and transport us to Monument Valley for a jeep tour in a Navajo guided all terrain vehicle.  The jeep tour includes stops to hike and view the beauty of the Monument Valley.  The guide will point out native plants and talk about their medicinal and food uses.  This evening we will participate in the Monument Valley Sunset Tour.  The tour includes Navajo Tacos.  We will participate in Navajo singing and dancing, a presentation of Navajo history and enjoy a campfire with folk tale stories prior to our overnight in a Navajo Hogan. LD

DAY 5: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 - After breakfast we visit the Tuba City Trading Post, a part of the Indian Country landscape since 1870 containing authentic Indian arts and crafts.  We continue on to the Hopi Indian Reservation, which has three distinct spurs along a 25 mile stretch of Black Mesa, numbered from east to west as First, Second and Third Mesas.  Each of the mesa-top Hopi villages centers around a plaza, where successive generations have built new houses on top of the old ones as they crumble into sand.  We will tour ancient Walpi on First Mesa, home to only a couple dozen inhabitants.  It has no electricity or running water, and can only be visited with an authorized guide.  We will visit the Hopi Cultural Center and Museum on the Second Mesa, a sand stone colored pueblo style complex that has collections of modern and ancient pottery, murals portraying traditional villages, a hand-woven bridal robe and other Hopi items.  Now on to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, a powerful and inspiring landscape that overwhelms our senses through its immense size.  The canyon is 277 river miles (446km) long, up to 18 miles (29km) wide, and a mile (1.6km) deep.  The South Rim averages about 7000 feet above sea level.  We continue on to Peach Springs, the only town on the Hualapai Indian Reservation and home to the Hualapai Tribal Council.  Dinner and overnight Peach Springs. BLD

DAY 6: Thursday, June 19, 2008 - After breakfast, we complete our Indian Country adventure.  We board a state of the art jet helicopter as we descend 4,000 feet to the Grand Canyon Floor.  Upon arrival at the Canyon Floor, we enjoy a Pontoon River Boat ride for a 20 minute journey down the Colorado River with a Hualapai guide.  Our tour continues with an hour long helicopter ride back to the rim of the Canyon taking time to explore the rim lookout points of the Canyon.  We continue on to Phoenix for overnight. BLD

DAY 7: Friday, June 20, 2008 - Morning departure returning home with many new memories and a new knowledge of the spirituality and culture of the Native American Indians of Arizona. BL

Price: $1,869.00  Price is based on quad occupancy without airline taxes and fuel surcharges.  Roundtrip air from Philadelphia, PA.  Air transportation available from other cities.  Single supplement $129.00. Includes Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance

Final Payment due by March 14, 2008

Cancellation Penalties
◊ January 9, 2008 – March 14, 2008 - $200.00 plus any unrecoverable fees.
◊ March 15, 2008 – April 28, 2008 - $300.00 plus any unrecoverable fees.
◊ After April 29, 2008: NO REFUND

Meals: B Breakfast, L Lunch, D Dinner

The itinerary is subject to change due to local conditions or at the discretion and direction of the leader or guide.