"The dirt track we're bumping along doesn't qualify as a road -- even here on the sprawling, remote Navajo reservation. Next to me, behind the wheel of an old pickup, Christian Bigwater downshifts as he maneuvers over and around the rocks in our way.

"You're in for a treat," he says as he stops at a point beyond which even he won't risk driving. From here, we hike through scraggly pines and yucca to a promontory from which the treat -- Canyon de Chelly -- reveals itself.

This national monument is nearly as spectacular as the Grand Canyon 200 miles to the west, but far less crowded with camera-clutching visitors.

The arid land above the canyon has been home to the Bigwater family for centuries. Christian and his two brothers run Totsonii Ranch and lead tourists on horseback down steep, narrow trails into the colorful chasm containing ancient cliff dwellings. The trips last two hours to two days. But even in the peak summer months there are days when not one customer arrives at their stable. At those times, the Bigwaters and their hired hands feed the horses, mend fences -- and wait."

Get the Story:
A Navajo welcome in Arizona (The Los Angeles Times 12/2)