Amazon Heart Expedition Arizona 2007 will not only be a physical challenge, but a journey through history, time and culture in the Navajo Nation.

Day 1:

Our hiking trip begins in Albuqerque with a drive to Chinle, stopping along the way for a visit to Petroglyph National Park. We'll arrive at the staging post for our trek mid-afternoon, which will give us time to drive the rim road for our first peek at Canyon de Chelly National Monument. That evening we'll have a trip orientation and dinner together, and spend our first night in Chinle.

Day 2:

The next morning we'll meet Winnie, our Navajo guide. After loading most of our gear into our luggage vehicle, we don our day packs and make our way into the Canyon! Hiking through high desert Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine forest, we descend to the main Canyon de Chelly. We camp that night, and every night, on Winnie's ancestral land. After getting our tents set up, we hike into Wild Cherry Canyon.

Day 3:

Today we'll hike to Spider Rock and hear stories about how Navajo women learned the trade of creating intriguing rug designs. When we return to camp we'll have a demonstration of Navajo dancing and singing. At night we'll sit around the campfire, hearing Navajo legends and history, gazing at the stars, and sharing our own stories.

Day 4:

Today Winnie will invite us into her hogan and give us a demonstration of Navajo weaving. She is an experienced weaver and you can ask all the questions you want. We'll then continue up the Beehive Trail on the other side of the Canyon and perhaps see Winnie's family's traditional winter home.

Day 5:

We'll travel over to the other main branch, Canyon del Muerto where we'll see some amazing Anasazi ruins and ancient pictographs. We'll also hear the story of the U.S. - Navjo conflict that resulted in the Long March and a way of life that changed forever.

Day 6:

We leave the canyon this morning, hiking out on the Bare Trail or one of the other trails that leads into and out of the canyon. We'll then take some time to drive the North Rim and look down at our home for the past 4 nights. We return to Chinle for hot showers and a farewell dinner.

Day 7:

We drive back to Albuquerque this morning, stopping for a visit to Acoma, the longest continuously inhabited city in the US, before returning to Albuquerque for the end of our adventure.