Day 5 - Friday October 12th, 2018

First an update on yesterday's events. Shortly after the incident that resulted in a buckled wheel rim on our Series 2 E-Type, a significant rock slide occurred at the same place. Some of the Leakers who were travelling further behind were affected, as the road was closed temporarily. I understand from Jeff and Bethanne that chunks of rock as large as tables were strewn over the road, and had created large holes in the road where they landed. As far as we know, no one was hit by the falling rocks, for which we should all be very grateful. It took a while for enough of the rocks to be moved to allow vehicles through. I may have some photos from Jeff later.

A second update: Yesterday Steve and Norma Pancoast's '68 OTS suffered transmission failure (correction: latest update is that it was some form of driveline failure, so it may be something as easy as a UJ), and had to be flatbedded away. We trust that you will get home safely in a rental, and hope that it isn't long before your beautiful car is back on the road, and enjoying another Oil Leak!

The highlight of Day 5 of the GCOL was to be a visit to the Canyon De Chelly near Chinle. The Canyon De Chelly national monument was established in 1931 as a unit of the National Park Service. It is within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Reflecting one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America, it preserves ruins of the indigenous tribes that lived i the area, from the Ancestral Puebloans (formerly known as Anasazi) to the Navajo. The monument covers 131 square miles and encompasses the floors and rims of the three major canyons: de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument.

When we emerged from our rooms at The Holiday Inn, we were initially discouraged by the thick fog that enveloped everything. Would we be able to see anything? However, our guides assured us that the fog would clear as we entered the canyon, and this proved to be true. Our party loaded up into 6 or seven 4 wheel drive Jeeps, and we headed into the canyon. The heavy rains of the past few days had turned much of the ground into thick red mud, so by the end of the tour we all "wore" some of the canyon on our clothes and shoes! 

The walls of the canyon were low at the start, steadily growing in height as we moved deeper (as did the mud!)

Our guides drove us into the canyon, where we would stop periodically. At each stop, the guides would explain to us what we were seeing, and answer our questions. At the first stop we saw a group of petroglyphs on the canyon wall. The guides explained the significance of each carving.

Engravings on the sandstone walls alongside a shallow cave

More engravings inside the cave

At the next stop, one of our guides demonstrated a method for launching spears or arrows that predates the bow. The device (an atlatl) can provide immense leverage to propel the spear much further than would be possible by simply throwing with ones arm. The accuracy demonstrated by our guide was very impressive.

Somewhat similar stance to a javalin thrower

The atlatl is flipped by the wrist to provide great leverage and launch speed

At the next stop we viewed ancient habitations build into caves in the cliff walls.

The canyon floor is populated by many cottonwood trees. Here the trail passes through an avenue of them

One of the ruins of ancient cliff dwellings

The White House ruin consists of 2 levels

The lower level is on the canyon floor. Originally one of the buildings was 5 stories high providing access to...

...the upper level 

Several of the rock formations look rather familiar...

The Bulldog

The horse's head

The Skyscaper

E.T.

Lloyd took this photo looking down into the canyon from the rim - one of the tour jeeps in the center of the picture

At the deepest point that we traveled into the canyon we were surrounded by high rock walls which produced a strong echo. In ideal location to hear some Native American Flute music:

That concluded our tour, and we returned to the hotel. After a brief lunch we headed in groups to our final overnight stop in Winslow, AZ at the historic La Posada hotel.

The historic La Posada hotel

The mandatory visit to "Standin' on the Corner" Park.

Prior to an excellent dinner in the Turquoise Room, we had a final get-together in the beautiful sunken garden at the hotel. I think everyone, both old-timers and first-timers, agreed that this has been a great Oil Leak. We had some bad weather, but it was good when it really mattered. We all owe Geo and Kathleen our thanks for organizing this so well. It was our largest group in 8 years, and yet all went smoothly. We wish everyone a safe return to their homes, and look forward to next years Oil Leak...

Farewell get together prior to dinner in the Sunken Garden at La Posada