Footsteps of the Ancestors.
A Journey through the Ancient Southwest and Hopi Mesas.

September 10–19, 2009

We invite you on a magical journey starting and ending in beautiful Sedona, the New Age capital of the world. We are going to see such famous places as: Walnut Canyon and Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley and the Aztec Ruins National Monument, Chaco National Park and Canyon de Chelly and finally Grand Canyon National Park. Our group will visit many Navajo, Anasazi, Hopi, and Aztec sacred sights and heritage centers. We’re going to meet Native American people, learn more about their culture and traditions and witness their sacred ceremonies. Hopi Elder Eric Polingyouma will accompany our group, Spanish translation will be provided if needed. Please join this spiritual expedition, it is definitely going to change your life!

http://www.spiritofmaat.com/footsteps_ancestors.html

September 10-19, 2009

with Optional Extension to Grand Canyon and Sedona (September 20-22)

(Spanish Translation will be Provided if Needed)

Itinerary

September 10th

The group will arrive to Phoenix this day. Free evening to rest and relax after the trip.

Hotel in Phoenix.

No meals included this day.

September 11th

We will start our journey traveling to Sedona, located at the base of Oak Creek Canyon, renowned for its stunning red buttes and monoliths, as well as its surrounding lush forests. Sedona has become a center for traditional and contemporary arts and offers a variety of galleries, boutiques and specialty shops, and is also considered by many people as the New Age capital of the world.

Hotel in Sedona.

No meals included this day.

September 12th

We will depart Sedona heading north to Walnut Canyon and Wupatki National Park.

Walnut Canyon National Monument - Walk in the footsteps of people who lived at Walnut Canyon more than 700 years ago. Peer into their homes, cliff dwellings built deep within canyon walls. Wupatki National Monument is one of several sites preserving pueblos (houses) of ancient peoples. Here there are many ruins scattered over a large area of desert northeast of Flagstaff.

We will have a prepared box lunch out on the land sometime during the day and after visiting the last site we will drive north to the Cameron Trading Post, an authentic Native American Indian trading post.

We will stay at the Cameron Trading Post lodge.

Breakfast and Boxed Lunch included.

September 13th

After breakfast we will visit the beautiful Antelope Canyon. Antelope Canyon called Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches" is at once one of the most breathtaking and tranquil places on earth. Gently carved from the Navajo sandstone over the course of countless millenniums, the slot canyons are majestic and narrow passages, just enough space for a small group to walk the sandy floor - and for the occasional shafts of sunlight to shine down from above.

We will then travel east to visit the Navajo National Monument, which preserves three intact cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan people.

In the late afternoon we will drive to Kayenta where we will check into our hotel.

Breakfast included.

September 14th

This morning we will travel to Goulding's Trading Post and take a tour to Monument Valley, the world famous red buttes and mesas on the Utah-Arizona border. Monument Valley provides perhaps the most enduring and definitive images of the American West. The isolated red mesas and buttes surrounded by empty, sandy desert have been filmed and photographed countless times over the years for movies, adverts and holiday brochures.

Later on we will travel northeast to Cortez, doing some short scales in the road to visit some beautiful natural sites of interest such as Mexican Hat and Goosenecks State Park, which has just one extended viewpoint of several huge river bends, now flowing one thousand feet below ground level in a deep canyon with a series of stepped cliffs and terraces, a feature recognized as one of the best examples of entrenched river meanders in the world.

Once in Cortez, we will visit the Anasazi Heritage Center? After this visit we will drive to our hotel in this town.

Breakfast included.

September 15th

After an early morning breakfast we will travel to the Ute Reservation, where we will have the invaluable opportunity to visit some cliff dwellings located deep inside this sacred canyon and protected by the native people.

After coming back from this sacred place we will travel to the Aztec Ruins National Monument, a center of ancestral Pueblo society that once housed over 500 masonry rooms.

Late in the afternoon we will travel to our hotel in Bloomfield.

Breakfast included.

September 16th

After breakfast we will travel to visit Chaco National Park, which was a major center of Puebloan culture between AD 850 and 1250. The Chacoan sites are part of the homeland of Pueblo Indian peoples of New Mexico, the Hopi Indians of Arizona, and the Navajo Indians of the Southwest.

In the afternoon we will travel to Chinle to check into our hotel.

Breakfast included.

September 17th

After an early morning breakfast we will drive to Canyon de Chelly, whose cultural resources include distinctive architecture, artifacts, and rock imagery while exhibiting remarkable preservation integrity that provides outstanding opportunities for study and contemplation. Canyon de Chelly also sustains a living community of Navajo people, who are connected to a landscape of great historical and spiritual significance.

After this morning visit we will travel to Hopi Mesas to spend time with the Hopi people and learn more about their culture and traditions.

Late afternoon we will travel to our hotel in Winslow.

Breakfast included.

September 18th

After breakfast we will travel back to Hopi Mesas to witness their traditional dances to celebrate Hopi days.

We will have the opportunity to participate in some traditional activities which will give us a vivid experience on the culture of this ancestral tribe.

Late afternoon we will travel back to our hotel in Winslow.

Breakfast included.

September 19th

This morning we will travel to First Mesa at Hopi to celebrate Hopi days and witness the wonderful dances on the village.

In the early afternoon we will drive to Dawa Park where an amazing array of over 1000 examples of rock art petroglyphs can be viewed.

After visiting this site we will travel to Flagstaff to check into our hotel.

Breakfast included.

REGULAR TRIP ENDS. THE OPTIONAL TRIP EXTENSION WILL START NEXT MORNING. THE PEOPLE WHO WON'T TAKE THE OPTIONAL TRIP WILL HAVE TO MAKE THEIR OWN TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS FOR THIS DAY.

September 20th

After breakfast we will travel to the Grand Canyon National Park. Whit his powerful and inspiring landscape, the Grand Canyon overwhelms our senses through its immense size; 277 river miles (446km) long, up to 18 miles (29km) wide, and a mile (1.6km) deep. We will start our visit at the Grand Canyon Village, where you will be able to walk down the canyon and feel the powerful energy of this sacred place.

Later on, we will drive to Desert View, where you will visit the Watch Tower, which is at the eastern end of the south rim and provides the widest possible view of Grand Canyon.

In the afternoon we will travel back to our hotel in Flagstaff.

Breakfast included.

September 21st

After breakfast we will travel to Sedona, also known as the "Red Rock Country", characterized by massive red-rock formations, as well as the contrasting riparian areas of Oak Creek Canyon, and considered by many people as the New Age capital of the world.

We will hike to one of the many sacred places in these red rocks called "Birth Cave". Later in the afternoon, we will experience a traditional sweat lodge with one of our Sedona lodge leaders.

We will spend this night in Sedona.

Breakfast included.

September 22nd

This morning will be another hiking experience, but this time we will visit one of the famous vortexes of this mystical city. These vortexes are created from spiraling spiritual energy, which is right to facilitate prayer, meditation and healing. This is an experience that must not overlook!

You will have free time in the afternoon to visit the tourist area and enjoy the art galleries, boutiques and wonderful New Age stores.

We will spend this night in Sedona.

Breakfast included.