White House Ruins

Location: Canyon de Chelly, near Chinle AZ. It is located on the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona (the Four Corners Area). Roughly:

Find the location: Copy the coordinates below. Open Google Earth, paste the coordinates into "Fly To" and click on the magnifying glass.

36° 09' 07.40" N
109° 32' 10.97 W

Equipment:  Hasselblad C501 with 140-280 mm zoom lens and polarizing filter.  Velvia transparency film, ISO 50.

Digital imaging/manipulation:  Image scanned with Minolta Dimage Scan Multi PRO at 4800 dpi.  Emulsion artifact removed and cropped..

Notes: This is a great place to visit. There are several well preserved Anasazi ruins throughout the canyon. "Ansazi" is now a controversial (politically incorrect) term to some tribes. Whatever they called themselves, they were remarkable builders and their disappearance in the 1200-1300s remains a mystery (well at least to me). Of course, having people move away and not leave a forwarding address is not a unique experience in my life. My parents did it once.

There are several places to stay in Chinle. We stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge next to the canyon. It was January and the cold from the rocks penetrated our boots in a matter of seconds. This is a park that can be viewed from drives above the canyon or from a road that goes through the canyon. The canyon route has to be arranged at the visitors' center. It largely consists of driving down the river (with a guide) and occasionally going onto land. You can also arrange to travel with a group in someone else's vehicle. On one trip, with the guide's help, we sank a Jeep. But true to its reputation, the Jeep climbed out with little effort. Hiking is also an option. In any event, it's a great place to visit and not all that far from other destinations like Monument Valley or Betatakin.