We awoke Friday morning to the beauty of the Sandia mountains and arid desert of Albuquerque. Sandia means watermelon in Spanish, and these mountains take on the beautiful pinkish hue at sunset. Aly and I gathered our many copies of survey tools and protocols, sunscreen and pop music CDs, and hit I-40 towards Arizona. Along the way we encountered breathtaking views of rock formations and nestled adobe-style buildings. We made a stop at one such formation at Window Rock, which also happens to be at the capital of the Navajo Nation (see picture). We attempted to hike up to the “window” itself, but we were sadly met with a dead end.
After a lunch of tacos and “Christmas” red and green (Allison likes the red chile, Aly prefers the green), we headed to the Hubbell Trading Post. This trading post is very quaint. Imagine tumbleweeds and scarecrows and old town charm. For our survey, we were able to evaluate the nutrition offerings in the small convenience-like store. During our scan, we engaged in an interesting conversation about the woeful state of nutrition in our country, particularly among the Navajo people, with one pleasant and impassioned shopkeeper of the trading post. He shared with us many insights about nutrition habits among the Navajo people in the area; shedding light on the complexity of achieving access to and acceptability of healthy food. It was inspiring to hear his stories, and get a sense of the urgency and determination to make a change within the community.
Our visit to Hubbell was a success. We pumped up the music for the drive north to Chinle, Arizona where we will stay for the night. So far, we have encountered a few “rez-dogs” (lingo for roaming dogs on the reservation), numerous tourists, and lots of dream catchers. Gearing up for a day at Canyon de Chelly tomorrow…stay tuned!
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