Connect with the Spirit of the Southwest

Grades 9-11 (ages 15-17) | July 3 – July 23 | 21 days | 40 Service Hours | $3995

Follow in the footsteps of the Ancestral Puebloans from the canyons, to the mesas, to the mountains. Touch a way of life that is 1000 years old.

Learn the prehistoric secrets of a river canyon from a native guide

Take on an exciting ropes course that teaches Navajo history and language

Work side by side with a traditional native family in a rural settlement in Dinétah (Navajo Nation)

Make a pilgrimage to Dibé-Nitsaa, one of the four sacred mountains of the Navajo

Raft the upper San Juan with a native guide

Paddle your raft through the redrock canyon of the San Juan River with our native guide. Discover the hidden ruins of River House and the prehistoric artwork of the Kachina Panel. The river is mellow and great for swimming, but some of the rapids deserve your crew’s full attention. Hike to the rim of Comb Ridge. Set up a ‘Leave No Trace’ camp beneath a giant cottonwood, the Navajo tree of life. Cook up a Mexican feast with your new friends. Gather for Circle in the shadow of a towering sandstone cliff streaked with ‘desert varnish’. Then fall asleep under stars like you have never seen before.

Cross-cultural service on a Navajo sheep ranch in Arizona

Leave the lush canyon floor for the otherworldly lands of the Navajo people. First, test your mettle and your talent for teamwork against the challenge of a ropes course with low and high elements. This is also an opportunity to grasp the spiritual heritage of the Diné. Then, travel to an isolated settlement deep into the heart of the Navajo Nation. Like many of the Diné, the people of Low Mountain live a simple life in a remote but beautiful environment. Here, an elderly Navajo woman and her family persevere with a farming life that is centuries old. As you work with the family, discover how they reconcile their traditional ways with the modern world. Take a break from work to attend a fair, rodeo, or other community event, hearing stories, learning some Navajo language, and getting closer to your hosts.

Backcountry camping and peak ascents in the La Plata Mountains, Colorado

After a stop at Basecamp to relax, refuel and gear up, hike into our backcountry camp. Our site is in the shadow of Hesperus Peak, or Dib’ Nitsaa, the northernmost of the four sacred peaks of the Navajo and a place of pilgrimage. At 13,232 feet the ‘Black Mountain’ is the highest in the range, and offers an awesome 360-degree view of the Rocky Mountains when we reach its summit on a clear day. Photograph a majestic elk herd. Hike to a mountain waterfall and reflect on everything you have seen. Feel the spirit of this elemental land as you savor the alpenglow for the last time, then return to Deer Hill Basecamp for our traditional sweat lodge ceremony and barbeque banquet.

“I was able to get to know one Navajo family on a personal level. I began to understand how people could live and enjoy a simpler and more relaxed life. We worked with Navajo children. We got to know them, learn from them, and love them. The relationship was two-way, and we felt appreciated for our work. The small group experience also gave us the time to get to know the people in our group on a deeper level.” Daniel, New York, NY

“The towering canyon walls on the river and the maze-like paths in our campsites where bats flitted in and out. Those first couple of circles under the starts. The smell of a fire just started by a bow drill on Navajo. Sharing a set of headphones with Ryan, a Navajo teen. I’ll never forget hiking up to those rocks, stumbling over sagebrush. I’ll never forget the kindness of our host, Rolanda, or the rainbows that seemed to appear out of the cracked earth and embrace the reservation.” Jonathan, Baton Rouge, LA