Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Hopi village of
Moenkopi. My friend Frank invited me to observe a traditional
Kachina ceremony in their village. As this is a religious ceremony you are not allowed to photograph in the village.
Since Frank knows how much I love to take photos he brought me to a nearby remote ravine called Coal Mine Canyon. The canyon borders the Hopi and Navajo reservations. It was remote and beautiful with eroded outcroppings and white hoodoos.
For the Tony
Hillerman fans, this canyon is near Tuba City. When visiting this area I was totally imagining some of the stories from the
Hillerman books that I had read.
The landscape and sky were stunning.
The ground was a bit crumbly to the step. We were very careful not to go too close to the edge.
According to Frank and some other stories I found on the
Internet there is a legend that on certain nights when the moonlight dances across the hoodoos, a white mist rises from the bottom of the canyon and forms the shape of a beautiful young woman. Some say the apparition is that of a Navajo woman who was walking along the rim with her husband and small child. The man and child stumbled and fell to their deaths. The grief-stricken wife went back to the spot every night for the rest of her life, and her ghost returns when the moon is full.
Another legend tells of a different tragedy: A young man ventured into the canyon on the eve of his wedding. His bride-to-be followed but never found him. She continues her search as a milky apparition that walks along the canyon rim on moonlighted nights.The men who mine coal here also have reported strange happenings. They say they hear knocking sounds when they work at night, and if they look into the canyon, they see an aura, which means someone has just died.
There is a very remote picnic ground with cement tables and a place for bonfires where I am assuming you can camp. The scenery is so haunting that I am not sure that I personally could spend the night there.
For a city person like me one striking thing about this area besides the natural beauty is the
absence of sound. I am rarely in a place where there are no humans around for miles. It's a wonderful experience but also reminds me of how much I appreciate the company of others.
This place if off the beaten path but if you are in the Tuba City area, have a truck and want to take some stunning photos this is a wonderful stop if you can find it.
I thought I would share a few photos from my trip to Arizona. I boosted the color in photoshop. I know photography purists hate when people do this but I just can't help myself. I love looking at the world like this. 
Moenkopi Arizona.
Moenkopi
Coal Mine Canyon
Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Hopi village of Moenkopi. My friend Frank invited me to observe a traditional Kachina ceremony in their village. As this is a religious ceremony you are not allowed to photograph in the village.
For the Tony Hillerman fans, this canyon is near Tuba City. When visiting this area I was totally imagining some of the stories from the Hillerman books that I had read.
According to Frank and some other stories I found on the Internet there is a legend that on certain nights when the moonlight dances across the hoodoos, a white mist rises from the bottom of the canyon and forms the shape of a beautiful young woman. Some say the apparition is that of a Navajo woman who was walking along the rim with her husband and small child. The man and child stumbled and fell to their deaths. The grief-stricken wife went back to the spot every night for the rest of her life, and her ghost returns when the moon is full.
