Advice for Europeans
We’ve had very good times traveling in Europe, so we wish to return the favor with some advice for European tourists who want to get the best out of Indian Country. This advice is based on our more than twenty years of travel in the American Southwest. If some of it seems obvious, well, it still needs to be said. General guidebooks might touch on these topics, but never really come out and explain them properly.
First, except for the cities, most of the land you are traveling through is rural and served by roads that are unfenced and require maintenance in places. Much of this land is also on Indian reservations, and is inhabited—even when it doesn’t seem likely. Small roads that appear to wind into wilderness often are the pull outs for rural residences. Therefore, be careful with your speed when driving, even on long stretches where the urge to treat the highway as an autobahn feels irresistible. Be particularly careful at night, because the roads are unfenced, livestock and wildlife can and do wander out on them, along with trucks pulling out from a blind driveway. During the summer months, many of the region’s highways in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona undergo repairs with crews that may stop and direct traffic onto one-way routes. You can be stopped at these delays for a very long time, usually in a remote area with no services nearby (we mean toilets!!!). Also, many rural people, Indian and white, drive slowly as a rule of thumb. Don’t get impatient and don’t attempt any fancy passes on roads you’re not familiar with.
Second, this may seem really obvious, but you must watch your children in national and state parks and other tourist attraction areas. We’ve experienced several times in recent years the amazing phenomenon of being in a roadside picnic area in one of these parks, and families from Europe have joined us at an adjacent picnic table, and then left their small children alone—for up to over a half hour!—while the parents strolled off on their own. They were fortunate that they chose us (and we do have kind faces), but another time with different people might not be so lucky… Also, many scenic spots, particularly at places like the Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly, have high, dangerous, and unfenced drop-offs. Every year we read while we’re vacationing out west that some family has lost a small child who wandered off and fell from a cliff area, usually resulting in a fatality. Don’t join those statistics.
Third, whether you’re fair-skinned or not, use sun block lotion, cover skin which can get sunburned quickly, and drink plenty of fluids. Much of Indian Country is at a high altitude, including the Continental Divide region which bisects the area. Your skin will burn and dry out quickly without you becoming immediately aware of it. Bring products, sun screen and moisturizers, you’re familiar with from home; what you need will most likely not be available for sale when you want it. It’s very easy to get dehydrated at a warm, arid, high altitude if you don’t drink enough liquids. Water is best, and watch the alcoholic beverages. Most reservations are “dry,” meaning they will not have stores that sell liquor. Don’t assume, however, that this means you are safe from drunken driving, particularly when you’re traveling around a reservation border town.
Finally, don’t make assumptions about the Native people you meet. Some of them will be traditional country folks and others will be as worldly as any city dweller, with their requisite cell phone and Blackberry. Most of the Native tribes in the Southwest live in a conservative manner, especially those from the Indian pueblos. They don’t want to be a tourist attraction, although many work in the tourist industry. Always check before photographing people and never photograph their artwork for sale without permission. Don’t speak loudly to them or press them for hearty handshakes, since this runs contrary to their cultural upbringing. Native people tend to be soft spoken and polite and they appreciate when you reciprocate. Taking time to be respectful and receptive will get you an enjoyable experience from a people who have every right to be wary of strangers (like the first arrivals from Europe four hundred years ago).