International Guests

Korea

Our first guests were three young adults from korea. they were quite amazed at the beauty of the land and our primitive lifestyle. despite a rather cold night, they enjoyed sleeping inside the hogan in warm sleeping bags. in the morning, they came up to the house to learn more of how we lived and see our flock of sheep. they inquired how we manage to live without running water or electricity, where do we get our water and food.

France

one important detail that i learned about the french folks are that they have a great admiration for the indigenous people of america! i have met and made longtime friends with several of my french guests. one couple in particular, mxxx and cxxx, have came their first time in september 2019. through instagram, we stayed in touch. their memorable time was when i took them on a 2 hour hike. they stood inches from a towering 400 feet (121 meters) cliff wall.

japan

one particular older gentleman stood out in my memory. he was from japan. we had a long conversation. he had unlimited questions as I also had many questions of life in japan. he told me he grew up poor in tokyo, way in 1940. he remembers his mom cooking on a stove in a little hut. they slept on the clay floor; they didn’t have running water or electricity, but they were happy memories. sleeping in the hogan, he was transported back to his younger years. buried memories resurfaced and he cried and prayed. he said he found an inner peace he hadn’t felt in so many years.

germany

elke, a guide for a german tour company came four times a summer. she came with groups of 6 to 8. after the group set up their camping tents, they start on dinner. their navajo guide, a relative brother, raynard and myself would join them for dinner. later, we all gathered around the fire as we shared stories, adventures, before they retired to their tents.

China

one evening, i had a solo traveler from china. he spoke very little english but somehow we managed to communicate. his reservation was for camping, so i took him to our ‘hilton hilltop’ camp site. apparently, my guest had never camped before but was excited about the first time. i helped him start a campfire so he could cook his evening meal of steaks and some asparagus and rice. he didn’t have much in the way of utensils. i went home to get a pot and pan. it was a calm night as stars made their appearance in the night sky. before i excused myself, i told him i will come by in the morning to help him guide his way back.

mexico

a family of four, mom and pop with two pre-teens, had reservations for two days. they wanted to go horseback riding and a short hike. i walked with them to pancake flats and sleeping dragon. the kids immediately crawled on small outcroppings of boulders, playing hide and seek. the husband told me that that vast open land reminded him of his home country, mexico where he had horses on his ranch. later on, they met my mother, rose, who they graciously hugged and thanked her for giving them a rare opportunity to stay in a navajo hogan.

bosnia

a family of eight, had reservations for two days. they drove from northern california where they moved after their country’s conflict with serbia in mid-1990. the combined two families were my largest guests. i opened the spare hogan that was just 100 feet (30 meters) away where the smaller family slept. after introductions, the men built a fire while the women started food preparations. they insisted I stay for dinner as their guest. interestingly, they had a cast iron cauldron which they pitched over the open fire. it was delicious dinner of broiled chicken with potatoes, carrots, onion and spices. later, we sat around the fire as I shared more stories, songs and they in return shared their stories of their home country they left behind.