Code Talkers - World War II

It's surprising what you learn visiting National Parks and Monuments. I have no recollection of learning anything in school about the Navajo Code Talkers who played quite an important role in the second World War. If it was mentioned, maybe they just glossed over it. Possibly, I could have just missed the whole thing by not paying attention that day.

During the beginning of the war, a non-Navajo man who had grown up on the Navajo reservation, suggested to the military that they should use the Navajo language for code during the war. The demonstrations were so successful, they immediately started enlisting the Navajos.

This proved to be the most accurate, fast and secure communications in the Pacific. No one had ever broken the code, the only one in military history.  This resulted in communication that was reliable and kept the enemy from learning the U S (and allies) actions .

The Navajos who were recruited went to boot camp, then communications training. After that they went to learn the specifics of the Navajo Code.

There was a network of 400 Code Talkers by the end of the war, all Navajo, all Marines. Initially, they recruited 29 Navajos and developed over 200 terms and vocabulary to cover countries involved, equipment and other categories. When the war ended, the Navajo Code consisted of almost 800 words in their Code.

During the war, there were special trips to the reservation to recruit more Navajos because the code was working so well.

It is said that the World War II might have had a different outcome had it not been for these Code Talkers and their language that is so unique.

The photo above was taken in the Navajo Reservtion at Canyon de Chelly, Arizona.

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah



Route 24 in Utah runs right through Capitol Reef National Park. Most of Route 24 from Interstate 70 is uninhabited and west of the town of Hanksville, it becomes a convoluted, twisted road that must be taken at lower speeds. However, the trip is worth the drive. The campground is spacious and paved, even though my site wasn't level - but don't expect any cell signal out here.

 

The scenery here is spectacular, with red rock walls that seem to be the norm in this area. There are some other formations I haven't seen before, such as the photo below. I think these formations look like they're melting, causing the piles of sand at the bottom of them. In a way, it probably is, since it's from the weathering of the rocks.

 

I took a hike one morning to reach a natural bridge.

On another day, I took a couple short hikes, one to an overlook of a gooseneck canyon with a small river at the bottom. It's 800 feet to the river down below.

 

On one of my hikes that day, there was a huge rock formation, and at the bottom there were a couple entrances to an abandoned mine that have been closed off. If you look between the bars, you'll see the universal warning sign for radiation. They were mining for uranium in the early 1900s. Back then, it was consumed as a "health tonic". In the end, very little was found here, very little profit was made and the mines were closed.

 

In another area, there was one of the many tall rock walls with petroglyphs carved into them.

More photos are below.

 

 

 

 

Fruita, Utah - Capitol Reef National Park

Back in the 1880s, a few Mormon settlers moved into the canyon in the area that is now the campground and Visitor Center of the Capitol Reef National Park. They created a small settlement of about 10 families and farmed the land. There are still thousands of fruit trees in this area, including apples, plums, cherries, pears and others. The trees are still being taken care of by the Park Service and residents of the campgrounds can pick and eat whatever is in season while they're here. I had to try them and had apple cobbler and apple pancakes while I was here. Yummy!

A small schoolhouse was built in 1896 that would house between 8 to 25 children, depending on the population that year. Of course, school was held in winter, and only after the farm chores were completed. The schoolhouse was also used for socializing. Behind the school, is a large rock which was carved with the school name. The school closed after the 1941 session and children were bussed to schools in nearby towns.

This area is great for farming and there are lots of large trees and grass, as well as the fruit trees. When I got home one morning after my hike, I found a few mule deer trimming the grass in the campground. Apparently, they were unafraid of me, I got to sneak up pretty close to them as they were around my neighbor's tent. There are also wild turkeys that wander around the area.
 

 

 

 

Canyonlands National Park - Island in the Sky

This part of Canyonlands is the northern part accessible from Moab, not connected by any roads to the southern part called "Needles" area. I much prefer this one, since it's fantastic scenery. And it's very diverse, since the road to the main part of the park was mostly rolling hills with greenery on them.

As the name implies, there are canyons everywhere, canyons right in the middle of a flat plains area.

There is also a crater, shown below. There are different theories of how this was created long ago, but nothing definitive.

As I was walking toward one of the overlooks, a man with a British accent commented to me, "I can't get it all in the camera." I have always felt the same way. Photos don't show how massive this area is, we're only taking one tiny slice of a landscape to put on a computer. There are more photos below, and I made a short video of the scenery here in this park, click this link to see it.... https://youtu.be/Y0_42c01isk

 

 

  

  

 

  

  

Summer Plans - 2015

 

This is a photo of one of the more dramatic places I explored last summer - Tent Rocks in New Mexico.  This rock formation is called a slot canyon - you can hike through the slot to find other areas with bizarre rock formations that look like tents - teepees.  I did a blog on it last year with more photos.

 

The reason I was digging around in my old photos today was because it was a cool, drizzly day and I didn't want to go anywhere.  I've been looking at maps and lists of places I wanted to see this summer.  It will be a busy summer, lots of hiking and fun things to see. 

 

When the weather warms up I'll head to northern Arizona, where the elevation is anywhere from 4,000 feet and higher.  There are good portions of the old Route 66 I want to drive, and from all reports, some should not be done hauling a trailer.  So, I will leave my 5th wheel and explore in the truck.  I hope to get to the Grand Canyon and down to Sedona, where there are energy vortexes as well as great hiking.  I have to stop at Winslow, Arizona because that's where the statue is - Standing on the Corner, in honor of the Eagles' song Take it Easy.  Gotta get a photo of myself with that statue! 

 

Shortly after that, I'll head north to another canyon and then back into New Mexico.  My camping permit is still good there and I can camp for $4 per night, with hookups.  There are a few things in the northwest part of that state that I missed last year.  After that, I'll head into the southwest corner of Colorado to see a few things and on into Utah.

  

Utah has a good selection of national parks and monuments in the eastern part of the state and most of them offer camping, although without hookups.  I'll be able to see arches, canyons and other rock formations.  There are unlimited hiking and photographing possibilities in this area.  Depending on how long all this take me,  I'll make my way to a few other areas and then head south for the winter. 

 

I know from living on a sailboat down in the Caribbean that all plans are never written in stone - we used to say that our plans were written in sand at low tide.  Luckily, I'm used to being flexible and wherever I am, I'll be exploring that area.

I'm hoping that fuel costs will stay low - I was able to find this the other day, while other stations were posting $1.95ish.  Gas Buddy is a great app to find out where the bargains are in your area.

 

Here's hoping all my fellow RVers have a fun, safe summer wherever they go.