Beautiful Valley, elevation ~ 6,000-ft, is located east of US Route 191 between Ganado and Chinle. In the distance is the Defiance Plateau, elevation ~ 7,500-ft. The dust seen in the center of the picture is raised by a vehicle traveling on Reservation Route 27 between Chinle and Nazlini. This route is not recommended for passenger vehicles, since it is unpaved and rutted, crossed by numerous arroyos, that may occasionally run briefly. The road is used by local Navajo that live in the Beautiful Valley or Nazlini area and have business in Chinle. They drive almost exclusively either Chevrolet or GMC pickup trucks. During the week and a half when we worked in the Nazlini area and stayed in Chinle we used this road daily. One day someone had hit a cow after dark and the carcass partially blocked the road. For the next week or so, vultures and coyotes picked on it, the carcass bloated, and began to stink to high haven. Nobody bothered to remove it. The residence in the foreground seems to have electricity, but probably no phone. Phone service is often only available at the chapter house. It is not uncommon, that during winter snowstorms these isolated residences are cut off from civilization and are supplid by military aircraft with food, and hay for livestock. This picture was taken on 31 October 2003, Sig...