Visiting Arizona this summer and thinking of staying in a hogan....

Do read the Coyote Pass Hospitality web page if you are thinking of staying there and understand that the hogan is traditional with no running water etc. and you do need your own sleeping bags. There are several places to stay in Chinle, the town nearest Canyon de Chelley. We had our own 4WD car and went to the ranger station and arranged for a Navajo to drive us through the canyon, which was an excellent way to see the area and our guide was wonderful. We did a whole day with the guide, brought lunch and water and snacks for everyone in a cooler. You can drive around the rim and hike down to white house ruin on your own, but to see the canyon you must go with a Navajo guide.

emalloy - I reviewed the site before posting my question, so yes, I knew we'd be "roughing it." Part of me wants to do it and part of me thinks I'd be lying there at 2 a.m. thinking "Why the heck am I doing this???" As I mentioned, we'd not be able to provide sleeping bags but could probably bring blankets.

I tried emailing Coyote Pass Hospitality but it came back as undeliverable so I guess I'll try calling and see what I find out.

Thanks!

It's funny I found this today. Just last night I was telling the unforgettable (to us) story of our plans to stay with Coyote Pass Hospitality. This happened about 10 years ago and I will shorten this version. I made a reservation with Will Tsosie, the owner of Coyote Pass via e-mail. I also corresponded with him via e-mail a day or two before we arrived in Chinle. When we finally found the place (having followed his directions to call him from a convenience store - no answer)based on some guy's loose directions, we were told there was no reservation and Will 'had gone over the mountain.' The hogans which sat across from a trailer that the family lives in, were all full for the evening. However, the woman we were talking to offered to have someone throw a mattress in the back of a pick-up, and take us to a hogan 8 miles away. We decided to take our luck in Chinle despite having heard from another family that there were no rooms anywhere. We were lucky and did get the last room at the Thunderbird. By the way I had prepaid for this hogan stay - $130 that I never got back. Did you ever get an answer, twina?

Suki - I called the number on the web site and left a message, and about two days later got a return phone call from a woman at a Navajo medical facility, who said they get lots of wrong numbers for the Coyote Pass. I checked my cell phone against the phone number on the web site and it was the same one I had called, so at that point I gave up and made reservations at the Chinle Holiday Inn.

If your are near an REI store you can rent sleeping equipment from them when you fly in. They are very reasonable.