Time to leave the house in New Mexico.
We accept an offer to housesit for some friends who live in Second Mesa - a Hopi
Indian Reservation in northeast Arizona. The housesitting gig doesn't begin for a few days, so we opt to enjoy some cooler
temperatures in the high country around Flagstaff.
Our arrival in the forests around Flagstaff coincides with nightfall, and we quickly set up camp. The area is ideal for
comfortable sleep - tall trees surround the campsite, and the ground is padded with layers of pine needles. We walk around
a bit, eat some dinner, and retire early to the sound of gentle breezes in the treetops.
We awaken in the middle of the night to a series of loud noises above our heads - the sound of cracking wood, creaking,
groaning, and the "whoosh" of air being displaced. These are the sounds of a large object falling fast. The noises
increase in volume and culminate with a deafening crash that causes the ground to shake. Abruptly there is no noise at
all only a heavy, deep silence that seems anything but peaceful.
We are both wide awake and not sure what has just happened. With headlamps lit, we exit the tent to discover that a 75
foot pine tree has just fallen approximately 60 feet from where we slept. We walk the length of it several times before
finally returning to our sleeping bags. The next morning, after an uneasy night's sleep, we pack quickly, and pause only
long enough to snap a picture of the tree (pic. 1 below). before we descend back into the land of cactus and arroyos.
The Hopi Reservation at Second Mesa
The Hopi reservation of Second Mesa is like the yolk of an egg. It is an area in the shape of a circle surrounded on all
sides by Navajo land - miles upon miles of unbroken desert, big sky, and scattered, isolated mesas.
Our friends are physicians at the reservation hospital and live in a neighborhood of modern adobe houses and grassless
lawns just a few hundred yards from the hospital entrance. As guests of working persons in the community, we are invited
to attend a cermonial Tewa (the Tewa are a separate Indian nation that also lives on the Hopi reservation) dance in the
First Mesa village.
The road to the top of the mesa is paved and well-maintained approx. 500 feet above the desert floor. The mesa is
remarkable - long and narrow - about 60 yards wide by 400 yards long. Sheer drops off all sides and adobe houses of various
ages built side-by-side often sharing a wall with the neighboring house. The Hopi have been living on top of this mesa since
the 16th century.
We watch the dance from the rooftop of a house that looks down upon a large courtyard. It seems as if everyone in the village
are present, and everyone is respectful and joyous in observation of the dance. At the dance's end - select groups of people
begin to throw trinkets of all sorts Tupperware bowls, beads, candy, wash detergent, etc. to grateful dance participants
and spectators. Our best description is a cross between Easter and Mardi Gras. We count ourselves lucky to be one of the
half-dozen or so outside persons to be present.
As a final highlight: The best T-shirt seen in the First Mesa Village was "Don't worry be Hopi".
NOTE: There is no photography allowed atop First Mesa.
The only photo is the one from the bottom of the mesa
itself. (pic. 2 below) and the
Hopi Reservation storm and rainbow (sunset pic. 3 below)
Next time - Santa Fe, Taos, back to Colorado...
More to come!
click pictures for larger views
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