Ducati’s First Camping Trip! (Canyon de Chelly National Monument)

Arrival, Canyon de Chelly National Monument.  No entrance fee, AND free camping! 
First task, grab a campsite and take a breather, gazing at the trees above me…




And now, because I skipped the Blue Mesa Trail hike in Petrified National Forest, I had time for the White House Trail…



 
Oh Glorious Light!  I couldn’t have been there at a better time of day…



 
For some reason I found myself thinking of cupcakes and swirls of chocolate frosting…





Here they are, at the bottom of the Canyon, the “White House Ruins.”   You can’t see it in this photo, but one of the buildings is whitewashed, giving the ruins their name.


 

You can see in the bottom left of the photo below how the ruins are built into the steep canyon side…


 

I also had time for a ride out to Spider Rock…


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And a peek at Junction Overlook, where Canyon de Chelly meets Canyon del Muerto…


 

I made a friend at my campsite that evening.  She quickly appeared every time I arrived, or emerged from my tent…


 

Not one of the heritage breed Navajo-Churro sheep, but a sheep in a Navajo canyon, nonetheless…


 

No camping trip is complete without a night time photo of your motorcycle!  (Cool  red seat cowl removed before departure to accommodate my tail bag.)



I’d stay in this campsite for one more night.  Next: Day Trip to southern Utah!