Homolovi is where the ancient Hopi people lived along the banks of the Little Colorado River.  The river swelled and flooded their crops and villages, so they moved north to Second Mesa in the late 1300s.  We headed north on AZ 87 to visit Hopiland.

Along the way we saw many beautiful buttes… 

…and breathtaking scenery.

If you look closely, you will see horses grazing at the base of Castle Butte.

Until finally, we saw Second Mesa rising before us.  If you look very closely at the top rim of Second Mesa, you will see something…

… Hopi homes overlooking the beautiful low country.

And so we climbed and climbed.  We were glad we were climbing by car and not on foot as the ancients did coming here.  We climbed to the top of the mesa, 7200 feet in elevation.

And this is the view those houses on top of the mesas have.

Pictures are not allowed to be taken in the Hopi Villages, and we wanted to give the utmost respect to these wonderful peaceful people, so I can just tell of our delicious lunch at the restaurant at the Hopi Cultural Center, served with warmth and kindness.  They are very happy, peaceful people with immense creativity, knowledge and skill.  One of the most seen symbols is the symbol for friendship.  It looks like a circle made of two halves, symbolizing equal give and take.

If you look closely at this picture, you will see a dust devil!

And so we left Hopiland, and traveled east on AZ 264 through the Navajo territory, which surrounds the Hopi territory to the site of the famous historical Hubbell Trading Post.