When I first arrived in Pinon it was what the locals referred to as "Monsoon season," I had no idea that it would really rain that much since the weather website that I had looked up said that Pinon was typically very dry.
The rain would not be such an issue if it weren't for all the dirt roads. Being on the rez, all roads in and out of Pinon are dirt. Traditionally the people here have always let their livestock wander; paved roads mean faster cars which means they would need to build more fences and keep the livestock in one place. It is an interesting thing though, to stop on the way back from the store to allow the horses and goats to cross.
The first evening when I arrived in Pinon I had the misfortune to make a wrong turn on an especially bad mud road while pulling my trailer with most of my earthly belongings in it. I got a ways down there when I heard the bad news, and since my finger was broken and I could only use one hand, I had to stop the SUV in the mud to hear that I was going the wrong way, which provided enough time for the trailer and the SUV to sink in the mud and get stuck.
Any other car I have ever driven would have been done there at that moment. I put it into 4 wheel drive and slowly maneuvered my way out of there. I got stuck another four times but that Durango was tough enough to pull itself and the trailer out of the mud and get me safely to my new home in the teacher housing. It was quite an adventure, though not one I am eager to repeat.
The next day after seeing the apartment for the first time and getting a feel for what was needed I set out for Gallup, NM to buy supplies. With my trusty GPS guiding the way I was sure that I would get there and back without any problems. HA.
GPS likes to take you on the short routes. In an area where it has been raining heavily and that has a ton of dirt roads, shorter isn't always better. BIA 25 through Apache County is quite the road when its wet. I set out in the morning, though it wasn't raining everything was still muddy from the night before. At one point in the journey I was climbing a mountain that had a dirt road, to one side of me there was the clif face, to the other side there was a small bank of dirt to prevent me from going off the drop and down several hundred feet. In the middle was a massive puddle of mud.
Having conquered that mountain without putting myself in mortal danger I felt as though my SUV and I were invincible. No other car I have driven could have done what this SUV did, and a less experienced driver would have gotten stuck even without the SUV. I was unstoppable!
I continued down my trail until another car pulled up along side me with the news that I would have to turn back, the road up ahead was completely washed out, nothing could make it through. I had traveled so far and conquered a mountain, I wanted to believe that I could handle the upcoming road easily.
The people insisted however that nothing could make it through and as I thought about it, I had no family down here to pull me out or to pick me up and being new in town I had no one to call. My temptation to drive on bowed to the local wisdom and I turned around and looked at a map for an alternate route. I had to begin my journey again almost from the very beginning.
The journey home however was much more dangerous than the detour on BIA 25. The rain came back witha avengance. Many vechiles that are supposed to be better than mine got stuck in the mud and the drivers stood stranded. My car being full prevented me from picking anyone up, though I did stop once to help a family with a flat tire.
Next to the road going into Pinon there is a wash, or a small river. When I had driven on that same road the night before it was about three feet across. On that night coming back from Gallup, it was 20 to 30 feet across and it ran along side the dirt road. I felt very happy that there was distance between it and the road, but not enough that I was overly comfortable at the sight of the furious rushing water. I watched it for a moment and realized that I was looking at a flash flood.
After a lot of slip and sliding in my SUV I made it home safe to a dog that was drenched and very unhappy. Despite the rain and hardship or perhaps because of it I felt exhilarated and grateful to have had the adventure and to have gotten home safe from it. Even so I stayed off the roads after that, my next big trip was only last week; in one month I only used one tank of gas, the roads simply weren't safe enough to be worth the risk, the Navajo Nation declared a state of emergency because of how badly the flooding had effected a lot of areas. I was fortunate enough to live on higher ground but I saw some of the devastation on a trip out to Chinle, a short trip where I was glad to be driven.
I had plenty of work in Pinon, setting up a home, teaching school, attending meetings with other teachers, and doing service for the local church.
The rains have finally gone and the roads are now much better. It has been good to get out of Pinon and see the surrounding country a bit. It is also very beautiful here because of the rains.
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