It seems Summer has arrived at the Canyon. We seemed to have skipped Spring and went right into the 80's with at 30 to 40 % chance of T-storms almost every afternoon. I so love a great storm up here, the lightning over the canyon is really takes your breath away.
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Last weekend Sunni & I took a trip up to the Hopi village, on our way their( it took about 3 hrs driving time) we found a sigh within the National Park, one that you don't see everyday .
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The other place we stopped was at Coal Mine Canyon, there is a story about the Ghost Lady,(an all "white" large stone) who lives in the canyon, and when the full moon is full, she dances within the canyon walls.
We got to the Hopi village around 12;30. Monica(who I work with) had invited us to a kachina dance, to celebrate a good harvest and asking for rain. We took chairs to sit it, but the only thing we found was a ladder to climb, so up to the rooftops is where we sat, a great view of all the dancers. We found the plaza where the dancers were, I was just amazed at how many dancers were there! There must have been 150 dancers!It was very awl appeally , and it moved me in a spiritual way. They were completely in sync with each other, there feet moved all the same time, there turkey fan headdress if there head went down they all did. All kachinas wear a mask, for they are the spiritual beings that come down from the San Francisco Peaks. They would dance & sing for awhile, then leave the plaza, only to come back with baskets & baskets of food, cookies, fruits, veggies, Bread and treats. Then they would hand to the crowd. For those on the rooftops, they started throwing food up to those people, It was really an amazing day. No cameras allowed, for it is bad luck to photo the kachina dancer. I saw something that most people don't get to see, and the images in my mind will stay with me for what is left of my life. I feel blessed to have been able to be asked to see there ceremony. That was the last dance till Dec, the kachinas have all gone back home to the mountains. I hope to be able to see them again when they do come back from the mountains.
