There is at least one thing that is better in America

Blueberry pancakes, jam, maple syrup, coffee and grapefruit juice. Cincinnati, Ohio, 2016.

The United States is in many ways a controversial nation. There are lots of incredibly awesome places and things, but also huge problems and dark shadows of history present in the society. I know that some people wonder, whether they should travel there at all. I warmly recommend a visit to the US for everyone who has the opportunity. There are countless reasons to go there, but here, I only concentrate on one, which alone is easily reason enough to visit America.

The breakfasts.

An omelette, rosemary potatoes, bisquit ("bun" for most Europeans, I think), jam, coffee and grapefruit juice. Memphis, Tennessee, 2017.

Often, the United States thinks that it is the best, greatest and first of the World. Considering breakfasts, this indeed is the case.

Even at worst, American breakfast is better than other breakfasts. Pancaces, maple syrup, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, French toast, coffee and orange juice. San Francisco, California 2015.

The American breakfast is usually constructed around pancakes, waffles or French toast. Eggs, sausages or bacon are often served with them - but only imagination sets the limit (I've seen a breakfast menu featuring T-bone steak served with pancakes). Serving sizes are such that those used to modest European breakfasts will easily manage until late lunchtime, or longer. As the United States is a very multicultural nation, there are countless local and cultural variations of the American breakfast, such as blue corn pancakes served by the Zuni in New Mexico - recommended!

Texans have, of course, over-Texasified the breakfast, too. A waffle shaped like the map of Texas. San Antonio, Texas 2017.

Nothing in this world is perfect, not even the American breakfast (even though it gets close). It is not the epitome of healthy eating, as there generally is a lot of sugar and fat. Thankfully, lighter options are usually available, as is fresh fruit. And, although the American coffee is sometimes very good, it often isn't. Luckily there usually is enough of it, breakfast often includes unlimited coffee.

Big coffee, Brooklyn, New York 2008.

Our recipe for a Road Trip

Note: this post is written from the point of view of middle-aged Northern European tourists. Americans and others may find most things discussed here obvious and/or boring.

Our faithful ride, a marvel of Korean engineering, Hyundai Elantra.

Four thousand nine hundred and ninety-six kilometer (three thousand one hundred and four miles). Seven National Parks. Five states. Three canyons. Two weeks. One ocean. Traveling the United States by car can be an unforgettable experience, and many interesting places are impossible or very difficult to reach without a car.

I've been asked some questions about how we arranged our road trip, and I had quite few things to sort out and think about - I was even worried about a few things. Everything went very well after all. So, below a brief account about how we arranged the practicalities of our road trip. Obviously, I do not claim that all our decisions were best possible (or even good), but our recipe produced a very enjoyable road trip.

This post is about a road trip we made in the USA, in the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico in June 2015. One should note that laws and regulations may vary widely between different U.S. states, as may prices of fuel and other things. Of course, the exchange rate between the dollar and euro, or your local currency, will probably fluctuate which has an effect on your projected travel costs. At the time of our trip one euro was worth about 1,1 dollars. About a year earlier the rate was 1,3 - a remarkable difference.

The Car
Rental cars in the USA a very affordable compared to, for example, Finland. We managed to secure our travel dates well in advance, which was fortunate because booking the car months before the actual rental saved a considerable amount of money. We ended up booking our car from Budget, because it was cheapest option available in places that were practical for us. The price of our 2-week rental including unlimited miles was 300,82€. We had also considered renting a campervan from a company like Escape or Jucy, but we came to the conclusion that renting a normal car and staying in cheap motels would probably not work out more expensive and is probable more pleasant for us. That said, the campervans might be great for people with different priorities than us. We actually saw quite a few of them in places like Yosemite and Grand Canyon.

Pros of renting from Budget included that we could return the car in a different location that we rented from without any extra fee, as long as both the rental and return locations were in California. I understand many other companies, but not all, have the same policy. We picked the car up in the small airport of Merced, CA, which we reached conveniently by bus from Yosemite National park. We returned it in San Francisco international airport, as we stayed for a week in San Francisco Bay area after the road trip. Since we were coming to the city from the south, the airport was easier to reach than midtown locations.

Most companies charge a surcharge for under 25-year old drivers and may not allow under 21-year old drivers at all. As we are old, we avoided such troubles. According to a Californian law, the spouse of the signatory of the rental agreement is allowed to drive, provided that he or she has a driving license, and the rental company has no right to collect a surcharge for him or her. This was an advantage to us, and we were not asked to provide any marriage certificate. The surcharges for second (and third, fourth and so on) drivers may be significant.

Of course, different companies offer very different deals, but usually free mileage is included and there seldom are limitations for visiting different U.S. states. Our Budget deal would have allowed us to drive to and in Canada, but Mexico was strictly off-limits. Obviously, one should read the terms and conditions of the rental agreement carefully.

On the Californian desert: good, straight road, easy and comfortable to drive.

The process of picking the car in Merced was straightforward, but took a little bit longer than necessary because the clerk, who, like most Americans, was very friendly and polite, had some problems with Budget's computer systems. This was not a big deal at all. Returning the car in San Francisco was a quick and efficient process. Sometimes an international driving license is recommended for the USA, but our EU-standard licences issued in Finland were adequate for Budget. No police officers or other authorities asked to see our licenses. When picking the car up, a deposit was charged on my credit car, I think it was the same amount as the full price of the rental (i.e. 300,82€). It took some two days after returning the car before the money was returned.

The car we got was a Hyundai Elantra, called "compact" in the U.S. but would be considered a normal-sized small family car in Europe. The transmission was automatic, as it practically always in in the USA. The rental clerk offered us a bigger car (Nissan Murano) for the same price, but we declined since the Elantra was easily big enough for the two of us and probably more fuel-efficient. I've heard that the rental companies often do this. However, we were not offered useless extra insurances, even though I had been warned that it is a common practice. Our rental included compulsory insurances and roadside assistance, and the extra insurances often covers things that are already covered by your travel insurance - never ever set foot in the United States without a travel insurance that covers emergency medical treatment.

I can't come up with any complaints about the car. It was easy to drive, on a highway it ran more than 40 miles per gallon (obviously less on the mountain roads), the seats were comfortable, the sound system more than adequate and air-conditioning powerful, which is very, very important in June driving around Southwest USA.

The Driving
Our route was, mentioning the places where we picked the car up and returned it, and the places we stayed overnight, Merced, CA - Bakersfield, CA - Las Vegas, NV - Jacob Lake, AZ (2 nights) - Bluff, UT - Many Farms, AZ (2 nights) - Grants, NM - Zuni, NM - Needles, CA - Maricopa, CA - Paso Robles, CA (2 nights) - Santa Cruz, CA - San Francisco, CA. There was lots and lots to see along the route, see our other posts about the road trip.

We do not consider ourselves exceptionally talented drivers, and at home we do not have a car at all. Consequently we were a bit worried about driving beforehand. This was completely unnecessary. Driving in the USA is generally easy, very easy. Most of the roads are multiple carriageways, like Finnish motorways. Signage was excellent, better than in Finland, and most roads we drove on were in very good condition, except some more remote roads in Arizona and New Mexico - and even they were not that bad.

A long straight and no other traffic to be seen, but thankfully the views are beautiful and dramatic. Here we are approaching the floor of the Death Valley.

Traffic was low on most roads we traveled. We met congestion only three times: in the beginning of our trip in Central California, in the city of Las Vegas and on our final driving day from Santa Cruz to San Francisco. In heavy traffic and on highways the American drivers seem to be more civilized than the Finnish ones, they even give way in interfaces if necessary - generally speaking: obviously there are a few dimwits everywhere (my warmest regards to the driver of a blue Chevrolet Suburban in Las Vegas, have you ever heard about turn signals or wondered why they are called turn signals?). The general respect for traffic regulations seemed to be on a higher level than in Finland, the complete disregard for speed limits on Californian highways being an exemption.

We only encountered two problematic situations while driving. Returning from Grand Canyon to our cabin in Jacob Lake, self-destructive deer were constantly jumping on the dark road. Our accommodation in Navajo lands, near Chinle, AZ, was very remote and the last stretch of the road was in a very bad condition after heavy rain. We were seriously worried about our little Hyundai's ability to take us to our destination. The 4WD pickups that the locals drive had few problems, though.

For navigation we used my rather basic Android smartphone and free HERE Maps -application. That worked. However, the aforementioned last stretch of road to our accommodation on Navajo Lands was unknown to the application - according to our host, this is the case with all navigation software. Sometimes it took a while before the phone managed to establish a GPS connection, but this was not a big problem.

We highly recommend driving California Route 1 along the Pacific coast. Bixby Bridge pictured here.

Compared to Finland, fuel is very cheap in the U.S., even in the higher end of the very wide price range. The prices differ wildly from state to state and also within states. I didn't collect all our fuel receipts, but the cheapest we paid was $2.69 for a gallon (1 gallon = 3,79 liter) in Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, whereas the most expensive was $4.59 in San Francisco. I would say that the total fuel costs on our almost 5000 kilometer (3100 mile) trip were no more than 300€ - try that in Europe! Of course, many factors affect your fuel costs - the roads you drive on, the weather, your driving habits and obviously the car you drive. A big SUV could easily burn twice as much fuel as our compact car.

The Accommodation
We mostly stayed on roadside motels, the like of which you have seen on American TV and movies. They provided comfortable accommodation with very few complaints. Most common problem were very noisy air conditioning devices (solution: earplugs). In addition to motels, we stayed in a cabin near Grand Canyon, in a traditional Navajo hogan in rural Arizona and in a historical inn in Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico. These were all pleasant and recommendable experiences and more pleasant than the motels, even if there was nothing wrong with the motels either.

Aqua Breeze Inn, Santa Cruz, California.

An interesting thing about motels is that there seemed to be little, if any, correlation between price and quality. The law of supply and demand seems to work. The most expensive night, almost 100€ for two, was in Santa Cruz, California (a lot of demand, limited supply). The lowest prices we paid, all slightly less than 40€ for two, were in Las Vegas, Nevada (enormous demand, endless supply), in Bakersfield, California and in Needles, California (limited demand, a lot of supply). Most Europeans will find the American habit to advertise accommodation prices (and many other prices) without taxes strange. It is a common practice in the USA and does not imply dishonesty. This means that if the price of a room is listed at $50 you will actually pay some $55-65. The taxes, too, vary from state to state and locality to locality.

Many but not all motel prices included a breakfast of usually questionable quality. All rooms we stayed in were equipped with a coffee maker and/or water cooker and free coffee and tea. Usually there was a refrigerator and a microwave oven, too.

The average nightly accommodation price over 14 nights was about 67€ for two including taxes. Those traveling in groups of more than two can probably get slightly lower prices per person, most motels seemed to have rooms for four or even larger groups. Obviously, the seasonal variation in prices may be considerable, especially in popular holiday destinations like Grand Canyon. Of the motels we stayed in, the one in Bakersfield probably offered best price/quality ratio, as the rooms were newly renovated and the breakfast was adequate. The place in Santa Cruz was considerably more expensive than others of similar quality. There, too, we had no complaints about quality or service, everything worked, even though the furniture, refrigerator and air conditioning dated from the days of Ronald Reagan's presidency.

We booked all our accommodations well beforehand, before we even left Finland. In case of popular destinations, such as Grand Canyon, this is highly recommended. Of course, having everything pre-booked seriously limits flexibility: on the other hand, it provides a certain level of safety. Bookings made on booking.com usually include free cancellation in case of change of plans: however, this is not always the case. In this age of smartphones and tablet computers it would probably be easy to make bookings on the road a day or two in advance, and I'm confident the traditional way, walking to a motel reception and asking for a room, works as well.

The nutrition for body and spirit
One needs to eat on a road trip, too. Finding somewhere to eat shouldn't be a problem, there are numerous roadside eateries with long opening hours almost everywhere. Unfortunately the most common fast food chains do not provide the best quality, or even price/quality ratio. The prices are only a little lower than those in Finland. Living two weeks on, say, Taco Bell and Denny's food will probably result in a considerable weight gain. Of course, self-catering is an option, too: also supermarket price levels are close to Finnish levels, particularly California seems actually more expensive than Finland.

Zion was one of the national parks we visited.

We highly recommend purchasing an annual National Park pass for $80. It provides access to all National Parks, National monuments and other sites administered by the NPS for a year starting the day of purchase. Usually a car and up to three people accompanying the pass owner are admitted, too: this was the case in every national park we visited. Because the greatest places in the USA are mostly National Parks, it definitely is worth buying. If you visit three parks or more, you probably end up saving money.

So, how expensive is it exactly?
We paid:

• for car rental about 301€
• for fuel about 300€
• for accommodation for 14 nights about 938€, if you can travel off-season you can potentially save a lot of money here
• for national parks about 72€

In other words, slightly more than 1600€ for two people in two weeks, or about 115€ a day.

In addition, of course, there are other costs that everyone has to budget for according to their needs and preferences:

• Prices of flights vary greatly, if you can travel off-season you may save lots and lots of money.
• For food you should budget at least as much as for food in Western Europe.
• Entrance fees to places other than National Parks. They are sometimes steep. For example, we paid, not including tips for the guide (unless you have real complaints, do tip the guide, this is, after all, the USA), $48 a person for a guided tour of Antelope Canyon and $23 a person for tour of Acoma "Sky City", not cheap but worth it. 
• As much money as you want to spend on souvenirs, shopping, gambling in Las Vegas or Native Casinos, drinking beer and wine, and whatever you want to spend your money on: the United States in general provides ample opportunities to spend money.

We made our Roadtrip on June 10th to 24th 2015

Not the Seven Cities of Gold

There's no such a concentration of ancient pueblo buildings in Zuni as in, for example, Acoma, but there are some traditional Adobe structures..

In late 16th century the Spanish had subdued most of present day Mexico under their power. For some reason, a rumor about Seven Cities of Gold began to spread among them. They were supposed to be found in the North, across a great desert. The first one to look for them was Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, who, however, never found them. Neither did anyone else, even though many have followed him during the centuries.

In New Mexico and Arizona we visited same parts where the Spanish conquistadors centuries earlier spread war, horror and destruction in their search for the Golden Cities. We didn't find any Cities of Gold, but seven places well worth visiting.

1. Inscription Rock Trading & Coffee Co

A recently shorn alpaca outside the cafe.

On our long drive from Acoma to Zuni Pueblo I felt an urgent need to drink coffee. Let's be honest: the coffee served in service stations in Finland is usually not good at all. However, it is far better than the disgusting goo that most roadside cafes in the U.S. torment their customers with. Of course, in big cities very good coffee is available, but now we were pretty close to Nowhere, New Mexico. I was fully prepared ensure my adequate caffeine intake with some disgusting, watery liquid.

Just east of El Morro National Monument (see below) we ran into a very pleasant surprise: a very nice couple serving excellent coffee in a most pleasing environment. In addition, outside the cafe there were two llamas and an alpaca.

2. El Morro National Monument

Steep walls of El Morro.

The summers of New Mexico are hot and dry. Historically, drinking water has been in short supply. A rock known as El Morro shelters the only water spring within miles. It is hardly surprising that passers-by have stopped here to fill their water containers for centuries, perhaps millennia.

In addition, the ancestors of the present-day Zuni built a small town on top of the hill in the 13th century. Archaeological evidence suggests that the settlement was abandoned relatively soon, even before the Spanish conquest. The inhabitants of that town did start a tradition that has continued to our days: making inscriptions in the soft sandstone of El Morro,

Ancient petroglyphs by the ancestral puebloans.

The Spanish embraced this tradition. Their first inscriptions date from early 17th century. The rock wall carries boastful descriptions of "pacification" of the pueblo peoples and other conquests. Some more modest travelers only inscribed their names, the date and the words paso por aqui, "passed by here". When the English-speaking Americans reached New Mexico in 19th century, they continued the tradition of inscriptions. Today, El Morro is a National Monument run by the National Park Service. As always, NPS does an excellent job providing information about the site and keeping the infrastructure in shape.

Boastful Spanish inscriptions.

El Morro spring.

3. Zuni Pueblo
The Zuni are an extraordinary people. Their language seems not to be related to any other language known to mankind, They are known, among other things, for their colorful and intricate ceremonies which combine a thousands of years old understanding of the Universe and the powers influencing it with Roman-Catholic christianity taught to the Zuni by the Spanish.

Earlier the Zuni have inhabited a vast area in several villages and towns. It is possible that the stories about "Cities of Gold" referred to their and other pueblo people's dwellings. After the Pueblo revolt of 1680 and the subsequent return of the Spanish most of the Zuni have lived in Zuni Pueblo, in western New Mexico.

The traditions of the Zuni have been a subject of active ethnographic research, and a number of books have been published on the subject. The Zuni have not always been too happy about it. At least some Zuni people think that some of their ceremonies are not meant to be observed by outsiders. Perhaps this is the reason that the Zuni are exceptionally reserved about photography. All photography within the pueblo is subject to permission, and for example inside the church no photography is allowed at all. However, photography is the only thing the Zuni are reserved about, they are equally as welcoming and friendly as other Americans.

Zuni Pueblo is not an impressive and beautiful place in a similar way as, for example, Acoma Pueblo. Old adobe buildings have disappeared, with the exception of the church (see below). The small but well-run A:shiwi A:wan -museum gets my recommendations. We were told that Zuni Pueblo is one of the best places for shopping for authentic Native American made arts and crafts. However, we didn't do any shopping, due to restrictions imposed by our schedule, budget and the airline luggage weight limits. The fuel prices were lowest we saw on our road trip.

4. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

The church, built in 1629, was almost in ruins for a long time. It was renovated in 1960s.

I have visited quite a number of different churches. The Roman Catholic mission in Zuni Pueblo, built by the Spanish in 1629, is one of the most peculiar. Its walls are decorated with colorful murals that depict the traditional ceremonies of the Zuni. Reportedly, there were similar paintings already a long time ago, but the original ones were destroyed, when the church was abandoned for years. In 1970 Alex Seowtewa, a Zuni artist, decided to paint new murals. The project took several decades, but now there are murals depicting the Zuni winter solstice ceremonies on the northern wall, and summer solstice ceremonies on the southern wall.

The church can only be visited with a guide. We had the good fortune to get Ken Seowtewa, Alex Seowtewa's son, to present the church for us. He had helped his father in painting the walls, and had a lot of stories to tell and a wealth of information to share about the making of paintings (he even pointed out a Star Trek connection) and symbolism involving them, the history of the church and the culture of the Zuni. As explained by him, Zuni clan system is approximately similar to the one of the Acoma and the Navajo: the clan membership is determined by the mother. Among other things, the clan system has protected the Zuni from inbreeding, quite contrary to the traditions of European royal families which favored marriages among close relatives. Right after explaining this mr. Seowtewa apologized to us, as we were the only Europeans present. We told him there was no need to apologize, as Finland is a republic!

5. Inn at Halona
Most people who travel by car in the USA probably spend several nights at motels. So did we. Most motels are well kept and provide good value for money. However, the motels are also very like each other, there's not much to distinguish between them. We recommend trying different kinds of accommodation every now and then.

In Zuni Pueblo, Inn at Halona provides excellent accommodation. The old building has a special feeling to it, and the place is situated right in the center. The prices are only slightly higher than roadside motels, and include a truly remarkable breakfast. We recommend a local specialty, blue corn pancakes.

6. Petrified Forest National Park

Petrified wood.

A whole trunk of a petrified tree.

Long time ago, before the dinosaurs, a dense forest grew in what now is Eastern Arizona. Due to unique geological events, the trees did not molder after the forest died, but they were petrified and turned into jewel-like colorful stone. Nowadays the forest is aptly named Petrified Forest National Park.

A cactus in bloom.

In addition to weird stone trees there are other things to see in the park. About a thousand years ago the ancestral pueblo people built several small towns in the area. They were, however, abandoned already before the first contact with Europeans, probably because of a drought that destroyed their fields, and the inhabitants moved to more fertile parts. There is little left of their buildings, but there are some paintings made by them to be seen in Puerco Pueblo. One of them is said to indicate the exact moment of summer solstice. We visited the place slightly less than 48 hours too early to see that.

We were told the spiral-like symbol in the center of the picture is illuminated by the sun at the exact moment of summer solstice, and only then..

Puerco Pueblo petroglyphs.

Present-day Petrified Forest is not forest but desert. It is known as "Painted Desert" because of the colorful soil. We've visited quite a few places that felt otherworldly, like they were situated on a different planet than our home. This was one of those places.

Painted desert.

"Drove mys Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry..." - actually, we drove a Hyundai from Budget car rental.

As Petrified Forest is a U.S. National Park, there of course is a well-equipped informative visitor center with a museum and helpful, knowledgeable park rangers. There's an entrance fee, like most National Parks.

This Studebaker broke down on the historical route 66 before the Second World War and has stood in the middle of the desert ever since.

7. Mi Pueblo
On a U.S. road trip it is very difficult to avoid eating in fast food chains. When in Winlsow, Arizona, we recommend Mi Pueblo, an independent restaurant run by a family of Mexican origin. The food  was very tasty indeed, prices were reasonable and atmosphere cozy. Much nicer than most highway-side industrial fast food joints.

We were looking for Seven Cities of Gold on June 18th-19th 2015

Acoma, Sky City

Acoma "main street".

One of the oldest continuously inhabited human settlements in present-day United States, possibly the oldest, Acoma Pueblo, is situated in New Mexico, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Albuquerque. The Acoma have lived on top of their table mountain since about 1150 AD. In their own language they call their home Haak'u, "a place prepared".

Acoma seen from the foot of the table mountain.

Acoma is one of 21 pueblos, Native American towns or villages. 19 of them are situated in New Mexico, one in Texas and one in Arizona. Puebloan peoples' cultures have common elements, but they consider themselves separate nations and they speak several different languages.

Acoma is built on top of a table mountain, a place that was easy to defend against neighboring Navajos and Apaches, who sometimes conducted raids to steal crops and cattle. At times, the relations were more peaceful and goods were traded between neighbors. In late 16th century the Acoma were, however, unable to defend their town against the Spanish conquerors' firearms and artillery. In 1599 a Spansh army led by Juan de Oñate destroyed the buildings of Acoma and took 500 prisoners. Women and young men were taken into slavery. The right foot of all grown-up men was chopped off.

The history of the Spanish and the Acoma is bloody. However, the church of  San Esteban del Rey, built by the Spanish in 1629, is a source of pride and a beloved National treasure for the Acoma.

Oñate is considered the founder of New Mexico, but it is hardly surprising that the Acoma do not remember him very fondly. In 1998 a group from Acoma pueblo cut the right foot off a statue of Oñate near the town of Española, New Mexico. I appreciate this kind of civil dispobedience. A more complete account of the events can be read  here. In 1680 Acoma participated in the pueblo revolt, which chased the Spanish out of present-day New Mexico. It took several years before they were able to return. After that, the history of Acoma has been less turbulent.

Today, the historical town of Acoma on top of the table mountain is still inhabited, even though there is no electricity, running water or plumbing. Majority of the Acoma live in modenr buildings nearby - "we like our showers and TV too", as our guide put it. However, every Acoma family still has a house in the old town and most spend at least certain holidays there.

A traditional oven made of clay. According to our guide it can be used for baking pizza.

For a visitor, Acoma provides a very interesting and easy way to learn about an ancient and distinctive way of life. There's a visitor centre on the foot of the table mountain, with a small museum. You can watch a film about the Acoma history there, or in Youtube before your visit (part 1 and part 2). Historical Acoma on top of the table mountain, also known as "Sky City", can only be visited with an Acoma guide. Our guide was, as guides in the U.S. usually are, professional, informative and fun.

Our guide explaining extraordinary entrance arrangements of one of the oldest houses in Acoma.

The oldest standing buildings are from 17th and 18th centuries, but even the newer ones resemble traditional adobe structures. Some modern comforts have been adopted. Glass windows were introduced in 20th century, as were street-level doors. The original entrances were situated on the roofs of the buildings and could only be reached by ladders. This, of course, complicated the everyday life, but made it much more difficult for raiders and conquerors to penetrate the buildings.

Kivas, buildings used for traditional ceremonies, are found in all pueblos. They are still accessed by the roof, and most of them are at leas partially underground. In Acoma, the kivas are distinguished by this kind of double ladders.

Every Acoma is a member of one of about 20 clans. The clan is determined by one's mother, and marriages within the clan is not permitted. There are many things associated with clan membership: for example, a ceremonial chief, the cacique, must be from the Antelope clan. Most pueblo peoples, as well as the Navajo, have a clan system resembling that of the Acoma. It is not only clan membership that is passed by the mother: property is, too. Consequently, every building in Acoma pueblo is owned by the oldest woman in the family, who, according to our guide, exercises a significant power in all decisions - "what the grandmother wants, the grandmother gets". According to the Acoma, the society run by old ladies has been proven functional by thousands of years.

Adobe houses.

The top of the table mountain can be reached by a minibus, the ride is included on the tour fee. Those who want to, can walk back down. We recommend this for everyone who is able to. The stairs carved in the rock are steep, and the New Mexican sun may be scorching. On the way down, spare a thought for the Acoma women who for centuries carried all water needed on top of the mountain in clay pots on their heads.

The top of the stairs.

Acoma stairs.

In the steepest places, hand-girps are carved into the rock to assist climbers.

On the visitor center courtyard stands a memorial to Acoma military veterans. In the U.S. military, the proportion of Native Americans is about twice as high as their propotion of the general population. In most Native communities, the military veterans are held in very high regard. I find this very interesting, and a little surprising, considering the violent and bitter history of the relationship between Native Americans and the U.S. government. Probably one factor is the relatively low income level and high unemployment in many Native communities. The U.S. military provides employment opportunities and, for example, education stipends, which would otherwise be very difficult for the less wealthy to obtain.

We very much enjoyed our visit to Acoma and can sincerely recommend it to everyone. The only complaint was excessively hot weather. Acoma pottery is famous, and there are many opportunities to purchase it directly from the makers both in the visitor center and in the town itself. The Acoma are very reserved about photography, taking pictures of people without asking first is extremely impolite. All photography in Acoma is subject to permission, but the guide fee includes a photo permit. Like on most Native American lands, there is a complete ban of alcohol.

From our Finnish point of view, the U.S. gambling laws are exotic. Generally gambling is very strictly regulated, the state of Nevada being an exception. However, Native American peoples are allowed to run casinos on their own lands, and they are not regulated by the states' statutes. I do not much care about gambling, but if I had to choose, I would rather loose my money in, say, Acoma Sky City Casino than in Las Vegas.

We visited Acoma in June 18th 2015.

Surrounded by Sacred Mountains

A Mesa on sunset. This is a typical landscape in the land bordered by the Sacred Mountains.

East of Grand Canyon is the homeland of the Navajo, who call themselves Diné, "the People". According to their own traditional origin story, the Creator has told them to live in their land bordered by four Sacred Mountains. Most of this land is today included in Navajo Nation, a self-governed territory of the Navajo. It occupies parts of three U.S. States, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

On our travels we prefer small private accommodations over chain hotels. For example the "Grandma accommodations" in the Balkans and small B&B's in Ireland offer great deals in regards to price, quality and, above all, ambience. This time we spent two nights on a farm near Many Farms village. We booked it through Airbnb. The place was rather basic - earth floor and no running water, but functioning WiFi. During our short visit we got at least some insight into modern day life among the Navajo, much more than we would have had we stayed in a roadside motel.

We stayed in a hogan, a traditional Navajo dwelling. The Arizona summer was hot, but even during the day the hogan remained reasonably cool. As the farm was situated in a high elevation on a mesa, it got almost chilly at night. We didn't need the wood-burning stove for heating, though, but I'm sure it's necessary in winter.

Hogan from the inside...

...and from the outside. This is a "female" hogan: a "male" one has a porch-like extension in front of the entrance. "Female" hogans are for accommodation, "male" hogans for ceremonial purposes. The entrance always faces east and the rising sun.

Our hogan was equipped with all necessary things for accommodation, but also with travel guides and books on the Navajo and their land. The surrounding landscape was incredibly beautiful. We took a walk in the evening, to a small canyon situated literally on the back yard, and were accompanied by our host's two friendly dogs. When it got dark, we got to see the stars without any disturbing artificial light. My personal highlight of our four-week trip was a morning coffee sitting in front of the hogan, the dogs and horses keeping me company, while Jóhonaa'éí (the Sun, literally "He who rules the day"), rose from behind  a mesa.

We don't have a canyon like this in our back yard.

Blossoming cacti neither.

As an urban dweller I am unaccustomed to the company of white horses when I'm having my morning coffee.

"...the indian sun is rising instead of going down..." (Johnny Cash: Navajo)

Navajo Nation is the largest self-governing Native American territory in the United States. According to official statistics the Navajo are the second most populous Native people. They are more than 300 000, majority of whom speak Navajo at home. It seems that the existence of the Navajo as a nation is secure. I think it can be stated that they have been more successful in dealing with settlers from Europe than many other Native American peoples.

However, there are many tragic and horrible chapters in the history of the Navajo. The most sinister probably is "The Long Walk", a forced relocation by the U.S. Military to Bosque Redondo reservation in New Mexico in 1864-1866. The conditions in badly overcrowded reservation and on the way there were unbearable. Thousands died of hunger and disease. The relocation caused also spiritual suffering, since according to their traditional beliefs the Navajo were meant to live in the land the Creator gave them, the land bordered by the four Sacred Mountains, and it would be impossible for them to succeed elsewhere. In 1868 the Navajo leaders managed to negotiate a treaty granting them the right to return home. This is exceptional in the story of the United States, land once taken from Native Americans has not often been returned.

A historical hogan in the Canyon de Chelly visitor center.

There is also another interesting chapter in Navajo history connected to the U.S. Military. During the Second World War young Navajo men were drafted to signal troops an deployed on the Pacific front. Based on their complicated mother tongue, they created a radio signal code which the Japanese were never able to break. The impact of the "Code Talkers" to the outcome of the war was significant, and their effort for the United States is a great source of pride for many Navajos even today. There were Code Talkers from other Native American peoples, too, but the Navajo were by far the biggest and consequently most influential group.

Navajo code explained in the Monument Valley museum.

Today the Code Talkers are remembered as national heroes, but during the war they were treated as second-class citizens. For example, in New Mexico the Native Americans were banned from voting until 1962. Most Navajos of the Code Talkers' generation were educated in Federal Indian Schools. There they were prohibited from speaking languages other than English. As schoolchildren they might have been beaten for speaking their own language. As adults they were awarded medals for it. Oh, the irony of history.

From a traveler's point of view, the Navajo Nation isn't that different from other regions of the Southwest United States. The small towns are no different than others in Arizona, Utah or New Mexico. However, alcohol is prohibited, like in most other Native American-governed areas. Spoken Navajo can be heard sometimes, also on  radio, but English is far more common. Like all Americans, the Navajos we talked to were very polite, helpful and friendly, and wanted to know where we are from. In one respect they were a little different than most other Americans: the Navajo generally speak less loudly. I understand that needlessly rising one's voice is considered impolite.

There's one thing connected to the Navajo self-government that may cause confusion fo the tourist. In the USA, the states can decide many things themselves, for example whether to observe the daylight saving time or not. Arizona doesn't, but the Navajo Nation does. Consequently, the Navajo are an our ahead of the rest of Arizona in the summer, but at the same time as all of Utah and New Mexico. As if that wasn't complicated enough, the Hopi, whose lands are completely surrounded by the Navajo Nation, observe the Arizona time. Make sure you consider this when asking about opening times and such!

The fusion of Navajo traditions and modern popular culture has created some interesting results, such as  Navajo Metal and a Navajo-language version of the original Star Wars movie. Generally speakin, I couldn't care less about any beauty contest, but I do respect Miss Navajo Nation, who has to prove her skills in sheep butchering, among other things. To people interested in contemporary Navajo culture, I recommend Jim Kristofic's book Navajos wear Nikes, which is also available as an e-book from  Amazon. And of course, travel to Navajo lands and see it yourself!

We visited the land bordered by the four Sacred Mountains from June 14th  to 17th 2015.