Gateway Spring 2020

Winter Hours: November 1February 28 8:45 am - 2:45 pm 7 Days a Week

Summer Hours: March 1 October 31 7:45 am - 4:15 pm 7 Days a Week Hiking Tours Depart Every 30 Minutes

$4800* Adults Per Person. Includes Navajo Nation Permit Fee.

$2800* Children 8-12 Years Old. Per Person.

Includes Navajo Nation Permit Fee.

0-7 Years FREE

All Tours Are Guided THINGS TO BRING: HIKERS:

• Bottled Water • Closed-Toe Hiking Shoes • Sun Screen & Hat Hiking Tours Depart Every 30 minutes

TO BOOK CALL:

928.640.1761

www.antelopelowercanyon.com book@lowercanyontours.com 2

*Prices subject to change.

G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C OU N T RY

Set against the dazzling Glen Canyon Overlook off Highway 89, the Sleep Inn & Suites® hotel and Baymont Inn & Suites® hotel in Page puts guests close to gorgeous Arizona landmarks like Horseshoe Bend and Rainbow Bridge.

SLEEP INN & SUITES 673 Scenic View Rd, Page, AZ, 86040, US Phone: (928) 645-2020 Fax: (928) 645-4950

These non-smoking affordable Page hotels are also near attractions like: • Antelope Canyon • Horseshoe Bend • Lake Powell • Wahweap Overlook • John Wesley Powell Museum • Water Holes Canyon

We want you to feel refreshed when you stay with us, that’s why our indoor heated pools and whirlpool is a great place to relax. Our exercise rooms are the perfect place to keep your endorphins going.

Other amenities include: • Free full breakfast • Free WiFi • Free parking • Guest laundry All guest rooms offer a 40-inch HDTV and desk. Some rooms feature a balcony, coffee maker, whirlpool, microwave, refrigerator, sofa sleeper and in-room tea and coffee.

Dream better at the Sleep Inn & Suites and Baymont Inn & Suites® hotel.

Hotels in Page, AZ offer cozy, modern rooms at a great value.

Book now!

Baymont Inn & Suites 677 Scenic View Rd, Page AZ Ph: 928-645-5050 • Fax: 928-645-0028

EDITOR’S NOTE Pete Sands /PeteSandsman

petesandsman

Website: sandstradingcompany.com

Pete Sands wears all black and a black open crown hat with a wide flat brim. His black hat band, an ammo belt, is made out of reclaimed

leather with crystals in bullet casings. But beyond all the layers of black, you’ll find a heart of gold.

It was after another long day of making firewood and then delivering them; purchasing groceries, dividing them and then delivering them in boxes. Pete Sands’ mother, Sally, told her son, “Rest shiyáázh,” meaning rest, my son, “I’m not going to lose you to the virus.”

Before he lied down to sleep, he told her, “I’m not going to get the virus.”

Sally said, “I don’t mean lose you to the virus, I meant lose yourself by working yourself to death to help and I know you give too much of yourself to people.”

Pete Sands sees his power in his people, the Diné, and his people in turn see their power in him. Fighting in his community, Mussi (Montezuma Creek, Utah) and across Utah Navajo, to curb the coronavirus, Pete at the end of February started the Utah Navajo COVID-19 Relief to help Utah Diné get through the coronavirus pandemic.

Deciding what to put on our Gateway cover has been the subject of great internal debate since the Winter 2020 issue with Andrea Tso-Holt soaring over Lake Powell.

We at the Gateway magazine and at the Lake Powell Chronicle decided to feature someone on the spring cover who shapes our society, an influential person driven by unflagging determination.

And that person is Pete Sands, a musician, filmmaker, photographer, and a frontline responder who’s leading and helping Utah Navajo through a crisis we’re all confronting together today.

4

G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C OU N T RY

Just a few months ago, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Pete Sands was working on a documentary and on his way to New Zealand. Today, he’s – along with his friends, family, and support from the Utah Navajo Health System – taking care of his people, making sure they have food and water, making sure they are not alone, and encouraging his people to stay home to slow the spread of the virus.

One of my best friends, Donovan Quintero, a professional photographer and a journalist who inspired this note, recently told me that in Diné culture, men care and provide for their families.

Men make sure the families they care for have plenty to eat; take on more of the household labor than the women and take charge.

The Diné Medicine Men Association leaders agree saying Diné boys learn these things when they are growing up.

Diné Medicine Man Leland Grass, president of the DMMA, said, “K’é is important,” meaning compassion, cooperation, friendliness, unselfishness, peacefulness, and other positive values that create an intense diffuse and enduring solidarity. And Pete is upholding these values when he goes out to help his people.

Inside this issue, you’ll find Pete’s story and Bob Hembree’s first-person perspective on his hike down Tsébii’ Hazdeestas (also Tsé’ésdooltas), Antelope Canyon. Both of their stories are illustrated with their own photographs.

We hope this issue will introduce you to Pete Sands, who you may know by his hat or may have seen on Paramount Network’s Yellowstone; and see some of Bob’s beautiful photographs of Lake Powell Country he shot during the pandemic month of June.

Krista Allen, Editor-in-chief

GATEWAY

PHOTO BY BOB HEMBREE

Tower Butte surrounded by a flat desert landscape in the Navajo Nation.

Gateway to Canyon Country is a travel-outdoor magazine published four times a year.

Publisher Mike Caywood

mcaywood@lakepowellchronicle.com

Editor Krista Allen

kallen@lakepowellchronicle.com

Photojournalist Bob Hembree bhembree@lakepowellchronicle.com rjhembree.com

Contributing writer & photographer Randy Billy Graphic Design Marty Sisk msisk@lakepowellchronicle.com

Advertising Norma Tsinnijinnie ntsinnijinnie@lakepowellchronicle.com Norma L Y Max Norma L.Y. Tsinnijinnie

Ed Pease epease@lakepowellchronicle.com

Circulation Jim Blittersdorf John Baker

F E AT U R E S

The longest mile

Pete Sands

Page is in the center of the Grand Circle. It has all the elements nature photographers look for.

The area has dramatic skies and landscapes, terrain variety, color, vastness, intimacy, and most of all, it is easily accessible by car, bike and by foot. Page is the ideal home base.

Some of the brightest souls come from the darkest places and some of the best songs come from people who’ve been through the worst things.

BY KRISTA ALLEN PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETE SANDS

Pg. 22

Exploring the beauty of the Grand Canyon

BY BOB HEMBREE PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB HEMBREE

Explore without the crowds; the air pollution; the noise pollution; and without the fear of catching airborne illness. It’s just you and Mother Nature.

Pg. 8

BY RANDY BILLY PHOTOGRAPHS BY RANDY BILLY

Pg. 30 SP R I N G 2 0 2 0

5

w e N e l A Who

e v ti c e p s r e P

Experience the Peaceful Grandeur of the Colorado River • • • •

Calm Water Rafting Half Day Trips Glen Canyon Dam Petroglyph Beach

• Horseshoe Bend • Lee’s Ferry • Vermillion Cliffs

RiverAdventures.com 800.992.8022

Wilderness River Adventures, managed by Aramark, is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service, Grand Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

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7

The longest mile A RIM SIDE VIEW OF ANTELOPE CANYON

BY BOB HEMBREE

8

G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C OU N T RY

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB HEMBREE

Antelope Canyon rock formations rival the Grand Canyon in beauty and variety. Camera

specifications: NIKON D810 body; Tamron SP 15-30 mm lens; 15 mm; ISO-100; f/11 aperture; 1/200 sec. shutter speed.

SP R I N G 2 0 2 0

9

Page is the center of the Grand Circle.

It has all the elements nature photographers look for.

The first thing I did after retiring was go to work.

There’s a big world out there and this photographer had to see it all. I’ve traveled through much of North America, a day or two here, a week there, and it’s never long enough. I was finally at a point where I could live almost anywhere, with one requirement: the area must be rich in photographic possibilities. It didn’t take long to narrow the choices down to Page, Arizona.

What I hadn’t planned on was taking a job at the local newspaper, the Lake Powell Chronicle, which needed a writer/photographer. This was a blessing in many ways. It helped me integrate with the community and get a crash course on its history, the Navajo culture and scenic areas not seen in the travel brochures.

Page is in the center of the Grand Circle. It has all the elements nature photographers look for.

The area has dramatic skies and landscapes, terrain variety, color, vastness, intimacy, and most of all, it is easily accessible by car, bike and by foot. Page is the ideal home base. Sometimes I’ll backpack with camera gear; sometimes I’ll load the gear on an electric mountain bike. For a change of pace, I’ll drive to Zion, Bryce, and Grand Canyon national parks, or to Monument Valley. They’re all close by.

Most of my favorite spots are a walking distance

10 G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C OU N T RY

Kayakers paddling through Antelope Canyon.

Camera specifications: NIKON D810 body; Tamron SP 70-200mm lens; 200 mm; ISO-400; f/8 aperture; 1/1250 sec. shutter speed.

-1 step exposure bias.

from home. I look outside, and if the clouds and the lighting are right, I pack my gear and see what the morning or evening brings.

There are usually three or four good nights a week for dramatic colors and clouds. There’s a lot to discover in the area, so occasionally I’ll venture into the unknown. This usually means hiking to areas bikes and vehicles can’t get to, either because of the terrain, or national park restrictions.

The first step is a scouting expedition. I take the car or bike as far as possible, then scan the terrain for conditions and potential paths leading to the destination. At home, I’ll use Google Earth to see what I saw in context and visualize the best walking routes.

I never commit to a path but want to familiarize with the terrain as much as possible. The terrain maps show where the washes, ravines and cliffs are. I always find myself zigging and zagging to different points of interest along the way, always finding what maps can’t reveal. These are the basic steps I took preparing for the Antelope Canyon hiking expedition.

Preparation

Visitors travel from around the world to visit the slot canyons in the Navajo Nation, which borders the city of Page. Photos of the colorful canyons are featured in National Geographic and countless travel magazines.

Lower Antelope Canyon meets Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Unlike the dry canyons to the south where the popular slot canyon tours are, there’s a waterway. It’s a favorite journey for kayakers and canoeists. The water winds through towering, majestic stone formations of multiple shapes and colors.

What is rarely seen, is the view from the top of the canyon. That’s my destination.

On Sunday, March 17, 2020, the morning weather forecast was a high of 90 degrees, 6 percent humidity and 50 percent cloud cover.

Perfect for photos, warm for hiking. There’s a narrow window of opportunity when photographing deep canyons, especially when they run north to south. Since my location would be on the west side of

SP R I N G 2 0 2 0 11

Thunderbird Resort

at East Zion

Restaurant (435) 648-2262 Golf Course (435) 648-2188 Gift Shop (435) 648-2203 ext 5 www.ZionNational-Park.com

Zion National Park - 12 miles Bryce Canyon - 60 miles Grand Canyon - 85 miles

Mt. Carmel Junction, Utah Junction of Scenic Byways US 89 & SR 9 Hours: 7 am - 11 pm

12 G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C OU N T RY

the canyon, early afternoon was the best time to catch midday sun on the eastern cliffs and water. I learned a long time ago a camera only sees light, not objects, so I photograph light.

My backpack was loaded with a small icepack, two bottles of cold water, an Adkins Shake, a compact tripod, a Nikon D810 camera, a few graduated neutral density filters, and two lenses: a Tamron 1530mm and a Tamron SP 70-200mm.

When I began the three-mile hike down the side of Manson Mesa around 11 a.m., the first thing I noticed was the cloud cover. It wasn’t 50 percent, or even 10 percent. In the high desert, shade is scarce in the afternoon. I hoped the clouds would come before reaching the canyon. Besides giving protections from the sun, they add dynamics to photographs.

Down the Mesa

I made good time getting to the rim of the canyon, making one stop along the way to setup the tripod and get a few photos from a ravine. The contrast between the jagged rock formations in the foreground, Tower Butte and Navajo on the horizon, and the vast space between provided a many wide-angle perspectives.

At the same spot, shallow caves were carved into the red sandstone by wind, flashfloods and time. Antlions (doodlebugs) built their traps and shelters inside the caves. They were large baseball-sized, indentations. They’re nocturnal creatures, so I didn’t get to see them, nor did I want to disturb their slumber. Page residents say they’re common to the area and resemble dragonflies. There was also sliver of shade in the ravine, not of enough for me, but enough to get my gear and water out of the sun.

After about 30 minutes in the ravine, I continue to the canyon.

This involved carefully navigating sandstone rocks. Some of them look solid and safe to walk on, but that’s not the case. They will break under your feet. If this is on the side of hill, it could mean a

serious injury in an area without cell service.

The Canyon

Reaching the rim of the canyon made me smile. Looking down the steep cliffs and the water below was more than I expected. I was utterly amazed by the sudden beauty. In the river below, I watched several kayakers and a young man on an electric surfboard. They appeared oblivious to the photographer with a telephoto lens hundreds of feet above them.

I set up the tripod in several locations along the rim, trying different camera settings and focal lengths on the lenses. Like most places I’ve been, I wished I could have stayed longer, but didn’t like the idea of finding my way home in the dark. The coyotes in the area are large.

Swallows zipped back and forth across the canyon. Their bright teal wings sparkled in the sunlight. The 200 mm lens reach wasn’t enough to get a good photo. I briefly thought of packing a 600 mm lens next trip but discounted the idea quickly after considering its weight. Pounds multiply quickly on long hikes, especially with a 1,000-foot elevation gain within a mile.

I could describe what I saw in more detail, but this story includes photos, and they tell the story best. Of course, nothing replicates the experience of being there.

The Return

It was hot, and the promised cloud cover never happened. The bottle of water on my belt was a third full and hot enough to brew tea in. I knew the uphill return hike would take longer and I’d need to take more breaks.

I made a point of resting in the most photogenic spots, and I made sure there were a lot of them. While my goal was to take wide-angle landscapes photos, I found that even the ground I

SP R I N G 2 0 2 0 13

Kayakers navigate through the majestic sandstone towers in Antelope Canyon.

Camera specifications: NIKON D810 body; Tamron SP 70-200 mm; 70 mm; 150-400; f/11 aperture; 1/400 sec. shutter speed. -1 step exposure bias.

14 G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C OU N T RY

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Top: An electric surfboarder cruises through Antelope Canyon.

Bottom: Kayakers float over green waters.

Right: Midday shadows and light changes in the canyons – a delight for photographers looking for interesting compositions.

Would I do it again? Yes. walked on was interesting. I’d never seen such a wide variety of rocks and minerals scattered about. I took time to look at the patterns nature had created. They rival the best artistic compositions. All I had to do was find, frame and photograph them.

I took another route back, exploring the eastern cliffs of Manson Mesa. They were in the shadows when I reached them. The backpack was getting heavier, and I took breaks more frequently. I reluctantly opened the last bottle of water. The icepack had thawed, but the water was cool. I had a long way to go, so I took small sips, just enough to wet my dry mouth. The heat and the absence of humidity had drained both moisture and energy from my body. It wasn’t as fun going up the mesa as it was going down.

The return leg of the hike took three times as long. Because I took a different path, I had to choose between climbing rocks or backtracking to easier routes. A 10-foot climb in the shade looked a lot better than a half mile in the sun. I’d learned earlier that the dark gray sandstone looked solid, but broke easily, so avoided them when hiking along the side of the cliffs.

16 G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C OU N T RY

At one point, I saw one of the large gray coyotes across the ravine. It was on the path I was headed for. We watched each other for a few minutes, then continued with our travels. I stayed on high alert for the next mile.

When I finally reached pavement again, I took the last sip of water. Home was only 10 blocks away.

With only two blocks to go, my right leg cramped from hip to toe. I sat down on a curb, dehydrated and exhausted. I’d never had a heatstroke before, so I wondered if this was the first. Fortunately, a neighbor saw me from across the street. He had emergency medical training and immediately knew what was going on. He brought a large glass of iced water, and an iced towel to put around my neck.

He massaged my knotted ankle. Twenty minutes later, I was able to walk again and make it home.

It was a tough hike for a 67-year-old man trying to hold on to 30.

Would I do it again? Yes. In hindsight, it was worth it for the experience and the photos.

Would I do things differently. Yes. I’d pack more water and less

Colorado River

Warm Creek Bay

City Antelope Point of Marina & Page, Launch AZ Ramp

Glen Canyon Dam

Lone Rock Beach/ Fee Camping State Line Launch Ramp Wahweap Marina & Launch Ramp

Wahweap Bay

Padre Bay

West Canyon

Rock Creek

HoleIn-TheRock

Na

v

ajo

Ca

Wahweap Marina

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Dangling Rope Marina

Lake Powell Last Chance Bay

ny

on

SP R I N G 2 0 2 0 17

San Jaun River

Escalante River

Halls Creek Bay

Halls Crossing Marina

Bullfrog Marina

Bullfrog Bay

Antelope Point Marina

Hite Marina

Colorado River

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89

A

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Page Public Library

Sandpiper Dr.

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Marble Rd.

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Appaloosa Rd.

Morgan Rd.

e Pow

. ll Blvd Powe Blvkde. eSll. La

Cam eron S

Palomino Rd.

Rd. Coppermine

Maverick Loop

Jerome St.t

Azure Rd.

Cascade St.

Cameron St.

Rd.

C

Haul Rd.

4

.

Osprey Dr

Newburn

Manson Rd.

San Francisco Rd.

Bran Rd.

I

Cach

e Rd.

Falcon Ct.

Golden Eagle Ct.

Hawk Ct.

Hau l Rd.

7

lvd.

C e meter y

Elk Rd.

Kaibab Rd.

89

B uckeye Dr.

H a u l Rd. t.

Piute Ct.

Bass Ct.

Packer Ct.

Cliff Ct.

Clydesdale Rd.

Coppermine Rd.

Manson Rd.

Bonita Rd. W

Aztec St.

To Antelope Point Marina Navajo Generating Station & Kayenta, AZ

98 To Flagstaff, AZ

Bonita St.

98

printing

Amado St.

5

lake powell

Azure Rd.

98

C Sunset St.

San Francisco Rd.

Bonita Loop

Amand Cir.

Amado Rd. W

Shetland

Pinto Rd.

O’Neil Loop

Mustang Rd.

To Horseshoe Bend

Cameron St.

Sunset Rd. W

89

Ct. Lakeside

Newburn Rd.

d.

Granada

ke P owe ll Blv

Ct.

Sage Ave.

S. L

St.

Ave. Antelope .

Hopi Ave

k St.

r. jo D

2

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6

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C e d a r S t.

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El Mirage St. S. 9th Av

Del Barrco Ave.

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John C. Page Park .

Ave 5th t. eS

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2nd Ave.

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Av 8th

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Tower Butte Ave.

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Birch St .

Willow St.

Vermilion Ave.

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Colorado St

Spruce

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Tamarisk St.

Sage Ave.

Cypress Ave.

Driftwood

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esa Ave. dM

Pondersoa St.

Redrock St.

Gunsight St.

oise Ave. Turqu

6th

va

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Glen Canyon Dr.

S c enic View

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Gramdview St.

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4th Ave.

Gum St.

1s

10th St.

Juniper Ave.

Thunderbird Ave.

e Dr.

N. Navajo Dr.

United States Post Office

on Glen Cany

Aero Ave.

Grandview St.

Pop lar S t.

89

ATM

Golliard Park

N. 10th Ave.

8

Park Golf Course

0 th A ve.

Castle Rock St.

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t St. Gunsigh

Church

Page Municipal Airport

te Dr.

Lake Powell National Golf

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Fire Station

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Plateau Ct.

Ct.

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Visitors’ Centers

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Scott’s Lake Powell Printing ©2015 All Rights Reserved

315 S. 12th Street :: Montrose, CO 81401 :: 928-645-3663 :: scottb@scottsprinting.com |Reproduction of the whole or any part of this publication, by any method for any purpose whatever, without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

street index Aero Ave. C, D-2 Amado St. C-4 Amado Rd. W. C-4 Armand Cir. C-4 Antelope Ave. D-3 Appaloosa Rd. B-5 Aqua Ave. D-3 Aspen St. C-3 Aztec St. C-4 Azure Rd. B-4 Bran Rd. B-4

Bass Ct. C-3 Birch St. B,C-3 Bonita Lp. C-4 Bonita Rd. W. C-4 Bonita St. C-4 Buckeye Dr. D-4 Bureau St. C-2 Butte Ct. C-1 Cll. Hermosa D-2 Cache Rd. B-4 Cameron St. B-3, D-3,4 Cascade St. C-4

Castle Rock St. C-2 Cathedral Ave. C-2 Cedar St. B,C-3 Cemetery Rd. B-3,4 Cheryl Ave. D-3 Cliff Ct. B-3 Clubhouse Dr. B-1,2 Clydesale Rd. B-4 Coconino St. C-2 Colorado St. D-2 Coppermine Rd. (89T) C-3,D-3,4,5

Crestview Ave. D-2 Cypress Ave. D-2 Date St. B-2,3,C-3 Del Barrco Ave. D-2 Diane Ct. D-3 Driftwood Ave. D-2 Eagle Dr. B,C-2 Elk Rd. B-3,4 Elm St. B,C-2 El Mirage St. D-2 Falcon Ct. B-4 Fir St. C-2

Glen Canyon Dr. D-1,2 Juniper Ave. D-2 Granada Rd. C-4 Kachina St. C-2 Grandview St. C-1,2 Kaibab Rd. B-3,4 ,D-2 Knoll Ave. C-1 Golden Eagle Ct. B-3,4 Lake Powell Blvd.

Gum St. B,C-2 A-3,B-1,3,C-1,2,3, D-3 Gunsight St. C-1, D-1,2 Lakeside Ct. D-3 Haul Rd. A,B,C,D-4 Manson Rd. B,C-3 Hawk Ct. B-4 Marble Rd. C-3 Hemlock St. C-2 Maverick Lp. C-4 Hopi Ave. D-3 Mesa Dr. C-1 Jerome St. C-4 Morgan Rd. B-4,5

Mustang Rd. B-5 Navajo Dr. B,C-1,2,3, D-2 Newburn Rd. C-3,4 Oak St. D-3 O’Neil Lp. B-4 Osprey Dr. D-3 Packer Ct. C-3 Padre Escalante Dr. C-1,2 Palomino Rd. B-4 Pine St. C-2

Pinto Rd. Piute Ct. Plateau Ct. Ponderosa St. Poplar St. Pueblo Dr. Red Mesa Ave. Redrock St. Rim View Dr. Rimview Dr. Sage Ave. Sandpiper Dr.

B-5 C-3 C,D-1 D-2 C-2 C-1 C-2 D-2 C-1 C-2 D-2,3 D-3,4

San Francisco Rd. B,C-4 Scenic View Rd. B-1,2 Shetland B-5 Spruce D-2 Sunrise St. D-3 Sunset St. B-4 Sunset Rd. W. B-3,4 Tamerisk St. D-2 Thunderbird Ave. C,D-2 Tower Butte Ave. D-2 Turquoise Ave. C-2 Valley Ct. C-1

Vermilion Ave. Veronica Ct. Via Valdez W. View Dr. Village Dr. Vista Ave. Westview Dr. Willow St. 1st Ave. 2nd Ave. 3rd Ave. 4th Ave.

D-2 D-3 C-4 C-1 D-3 C-1,2 C-1 D-2 B-2,3 B-3 B,C-3 C-2,3

5th Ave. 6th Ave. 7th Ave. 8th Ave. 9th Ave. N. 10th Ave. 10th St. 11th Ave. 12th Ave. 13th Ave. 13th Ct. 14th Ave.

C-2,3 C-2,3 C-2 C,D-2 C,D-2,3 C-1,2 D-1,2 C,D-1 C-1 C-1 C-1 C-1

15th Ave. 16th Ave. 17th Ave. 18th Ave. 19th Ave. 20th Ave.

C-1 C-1 C-1 C-1 C-1 C,D-1

Top: Rock formations at the foot of Manson Mesa.

Camera specifications: NIKON D810 body; Tamron SP 15-30 mm lens; 15 mm; ISO-100; f/11 aperture; 1/200 sec. shutter speed.

Right: There are a wide variety of rocks and minerals along the route to Antelope Canyon from Page.

Camera specifications: NIKON D810 body; Tamron SP 70-200 mm lens; 200 mm; 150-400; f/11 aperture; 1/1000 sec. shutter speed. -1 step exposure bias. gear. This is a four-bottle hike in the heat. When I planned the hike, I had two options and chose the longer route with expectations of more photo opportunities. Next time I’ll take the shorter route. It won’t cut the longest mile, but it cuts the hiking distance by two miles, and that makes a difference in the high desert.

SP R I N G 2 0 2 0 21

Pete Sands C O V E R S T O R Y

The Diné musician, filmmaker, and photographer with a famous hat talks music, style, and Yellowstone.

H

By Krista Allen Photos by Pete Sands

is brother had a dream that the musician was wearing a wide flat brim hat, a defining piece of attire that would become his signature look.

“It was so cool,” Rufus J. Dee said about his brother, Pete Sands’ hat, which Sands bought seven years ago at a hat store in Salt Lake City.

The hat store is no longer open, said the 37-year-old Sands, the Diné (Navajo) musician, filmmaker, and photographer from Montezuma Creek, Utah.

But when it was open, he and Dee went there to buy new boots.

“My brother was like, ‘You should buy that hat.’ And I tried it on, and it fit me just right,” Sands said. “At the time, I wasn’t anybody yet. I was still trying to save money. But the hat was $600. I said, ‘G–– that’s a lot of money for a hat.’ My brother said, ‘Just buy it dude, trust me.’ I bought it and I started wearing it. It takes a while to get used to a hat, but for me, I just wore it all the time.”

After he bought the hat, Sands wore it to the annual Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque where he got to know Apache-Diné musician Joe Tohonnie Jr. who gave him a feather – a gift. Sands placed the feather on his hat, creating a trademark.

“And then my buddy, Lehi, he was making hat bands. He sells hats too. He calls himself ‘Thundervoice Eagle’ (of Thunder Voice Hat Co.),” Sands said.

“He’s like, ‘I’m trying to come up with these hat bands. I said, ‘Dude, I got an idea. Make me a hat band that has bullet shells in it. I want you to make the bullet shells with crystals in it.’ That’s where that came from and he made it for me. And he brought it and I put it on.”

The hat band, or ammo belt, was made out of reclaimed leather with quartz crystal inside bullet casings.

One of Thunder Voice’s Instagram post reads: “Pete had asked for bullets, so an idea was born: Crystals in the bullet casing, representing the spiritual battle, a higher way of protecting ourselves and others.”

Sands said Thunder Voice sells a lot of hats nowadays and even singer-songwriter Billy Ray Cyrus has one.

The ammo belt

Pete Sands’ hat is a lot more famous than Pete Sands himself. Sands wore his distinguished hat on a trip to Los Angeles one day. He was at a Mexican market in East L.A. where he ran into a Hispanic elder who came up to him and asked if he’s Pete Sands.

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“I said, ‘What? Yeah! Yeah!’” Sands said “But without the hat, people don’t know. And sometimes it’s better that way. That’s when you leave the hat at home. But yeah, the hat’s a signature of mine.”

Long before he was crooning tunes, filming, and taking photographs with a DSLR camera, Pete Sands was in college, where his roommate turned friend, Craig, taught him how to play the acoustic guitar on an Epiphone.

“I was like, man, I wish I could play the guitar. He started showing me how to play guitar tabs,” Sands said. “Then his cousin started coming over. (His cousin) is a really good guitar player and he started showing me how to play chords.”

Craig’s cousin taught Sands how to play the three essential guitar chords: G Major, C Major and D Major. It wasn’t long before he mastered these simple sequences and began strumming along to songs.

“And I just took it from there,” Sands said. “I just kept playing,

learning, and that’s how I started. It’s just something about acoustic guitar. Playing with a band is cool, but there’s some kind of honesty and rawness – just you and your guitar on stage, no effects. That’s pure talent.

“If you really want to show your talent and shine, play an acoustic guitar and sing a song. That’s it.

That’s how I learned.”

Though there are other acoustic guitar brands, Sands said he’s always used an Epiphone that helped shaped his sound – and Epiphone is a personal choice, even by the Rolling Stones.

“That’s what I started with and that’s what I still go with,” he said. “There are other nice guitars out there in the world, but I like second-hand things. I like pawn shop guitars, (they are) my favorite.”

Sands says he was first introduced to music at a young age living with his grandmother near Ganado, Arizona.

Without the hat, people don’t know. And sometimes it’s better that way. That’s when you leave the hat at home. But yeah, the hat’s a signature of mine.

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SP R I N G 2 0 2 0 25

“I remember one day, she taught me how to work (her) record player and I started listening to the records she had because that’s all I could do besides read books,” Sands said. His grandmother worked in Los Angeles as a teenager for prominent people who often gave her record albums on top of her pay.

“But when she came back to the Navajo Nation, she brought all her records back with her,” he said. “So, I started playing these records and I remember playing ‘Johnny Cash at San Quentin.’ I remember listening to that and hearing ‘A Boy Named Sue’ for the first time. You could hear the inmates screaming and everything and I said, ‘Woah, what the hell is this?’

“She had records from Johnny, Waylon, Sinatra, and Etta James.

That’s what really caught me. That was the first moment like, man, that’s what I want to do. But I didn’t know how to play (the guitar).”

Bright souls come from dark places

Some of the brightest souls come from the darkest places and some of the best songs come from people who’ve been through the worst things. That’s what an old country singer told Sands in Amarillo, Texas, a pit stop he made when he was traveling across the country as a solo artist.

“And I think being that light in the dark is very important for people, especially nowadays with mental health and depression and stuff like that,” Sands said. “It’s being addressed in a way where I feel like the way I do things. I don’t hide it, I show it, I give it a little face.

“There’s also a dark element to (the Diné culture). ‘You can’t talk about suicide, it’s against taboo.’ And I’m on the other side saying, ‘But how are we going to fix it if we don’t talk about it?’”

Rock and roll usually has the reputation for being the bad boy of

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the music genres, but country music has its share of artists who’ve walked the dark side and put in a great deal of emotion into their songwriting and performing. Sands says that’s where he comes from: The old country songs by George Jones, Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash, all of whom tend to focus on subjects and emotions on the darker side.

“They’re all dark and they tell stories,” Sands said. “I can’t stay dark all the time. I like contrast of colors. I dress in black all the time, but when I do something, I like to have color to it.

“Whenever people ask me, ‘How did you start?’ It was always just me and my guitar. That’s how it started. For me, music itself was when I wrote a song, you can say things you couldn’t. You can say it through a song; you just couldn’t say it through (speaking).”

Sands said it’s the same way in film, which he learned a couple of years ago, during which he was always afraid he didn’t know what he was doing.

“I didn’t know how to do things and you just learn,” Sand said.

“You learn things and I was fortunate to have some very, very good mentors. And I got to go on some film sets and really, just watch.”

Meeting Taylor Sheridan

Pete Sands first met Taylor Sheridan, the creative force behind Yellowstone, which shows on Paramount Network, on set in Utah.

“They found me, and they came to me while I was playing a set in Salt Lake wanting me to be on Yellowstone,” Sands said. “And after a few attempts, I finally agreed because I didn’t want to be an actor or anything. So, my brother––I told them what I would do if I had my brother on the show with me. They were like, ‘Yeah, we can do that.’

From left to right, Pete Sands, Mo Brings Plenty, Gil Birmingham, Cole Hauser, Kevin Costner, and Wes Bentley from Yellowstone. Photo courtesy of Paramount Network.

“So, we got on set. My brother knew Taylor because he’s a Sons of Anarchy (on which Sheridan played David Hale) fan. I didn’t watch the show. My brother was like, ‘That’s Taylor Sheridan, dude!’

So, we met him and that night, my buddy Daryl Begay (Wind River), who’s a Native American consultant for Yellowstone was happy to see me because he’s a big fan of mine.”

Surprised that Begay saw Sands on set, he immediately introduced Sands to Sheridan.

“Taylor, this is Pete! The guy we were listening to when we were coming over!” Begay told Sheridan, who made an immediate, genuine connection with Sands that day and invited him to learn about filming on the set of Yellowstone after he learned about his fascination for film.

“Taylor was a very good mentor,” Sands said. “He didn’t have to bring me in. He didn’t have to be like, ‘Come on set and just watch.’

The tricky thing about film business is the business part. Making art is not hard, but it’s the business aspect of it that really kills things and that’s what drives things. Taylor taught me that.”

Sheridan also taught Sands about screenwriting, film and video terminology; among other things he didn’t already know.

“He wasn’t afraid,” Sands said about Sheridan. “I was never afraid to ask questions, but just that hunger for knowledge. He wasn’t afraid to feed it.

“I learned a lot from him and from the people he worked with: Michael Friedman, his good friend and producer for a long time and the whole crew of Yellowstone. That was probably the greatest gift anybody could ever give me because they let me just roam around the camera operators and just ask questions to people. Taylor is a big mentor of mine and he still is.”

On the set of Yellowstone

Yellowstone concerns a patch of land in Montana that’s as big as Rhode Island controlled by tradition-bound rancher John Dutton

(Kevin Costner), a wealthy patriarch who has toughened his three sons and one daughter after their mother passed on when they were young.

The Yellowstone Dutton ranch, the largest ranch in the U.S., is under constant attack by those it borders – land developers, a national park, and the Broken Rock Nation. Land grabs make developers billions and politicians are bought and sold by oil and lumber corporations. Drinking water is poised by fracking wells and unsolved murders don’t make the news. And the Natives who were there before the Dutton family want the Montana land back.

Yellowstone is looking to change the stereotypical representation of Native Americans on the show, which has strong Native characters, one of which is Pete Sands, who appears in Season 2. Music by Sands and Joey Stylez, a First Nations-Métis Canadian singer-songwriter from Saskatchewan, Canada, is heard when Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) is taking a horse home to his corral in the very first episode of Yellowstone.

“It was funny because when I first did it, when they first got me on the show, they take a picture of you (after makeup) and they … sent it to Taylor,” Sands explained. “The makeup guy who became a really good friend of mine––Taylor texted him back and said, ‘Don’t change a f––ing thing about him, just leave him like that.’ So, I just came dressed like I do every day with my other hat and that’s how I got on the show. And they called and asked me if I could come back again for another scene. That was the first day.”

During the second scene, Sands says, was when he met Costner, Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler), and the entire Yellowstone cast.

“We finished filming the first season, not knowing what was going to happen. No one knew it was going to be as big as it is now,” Sands said. “The second season, (Sheridan) said, ‘I got a part for you.’”

That part was singing on stage at a music festival.

“You’re on set and sometimes you spend like nine-10 hours–– three-fourth of the time just waiting,” Sands said. “It’s surreal to see.

SP R I N G 2 0 2 0 27

You’re there … see it put together into a rough edit. Man, it looks so cool.”

When Joey Stylez showed up for Season 2, he brought Sands a new feather as a gift, which is on the brim hat he wears today.

But Yellowstone opened up a lot of doors for Sands.

“You’ve got to be ready to go at any time. That’s what I tell the younger people. You’ve got to practice, you’ve got to rehearse, you’ve got to be ready to go because you don’t know when an opportunity’s going to come,” Sands said. “You can’t choose when the opportunity will show. A lot of times, you’ve got to be at the right place at the right time. So, Yellowstone has done a lot for me. It helped me grow.”

The set of Yellowstone is also where he met Hauser, who he became good friends with. Sands said he doesn’t remember how that happened, but it did. And Hauser’s a nice guy who helps Sands anyway he can to get him exposure.

Sands is currently filming a documentary called “The Hurting Song” about missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and men – a big problem in Native nations across the country.

Sands said he has found, through his research, that more Native men go missing than Native women and girls. And it’s often overlooked, thus traveling around the globe to show through film that the problem isn’t just in the U.S. “One thing I do realize now is the more I build, and the projects are getting bigger, I can’t do everything,” Sands said. “I can’t do everything and it’s important for a lot of artists. You’ve got to let go of certain things. As a film director, you should only worry about making the movie. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

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Into the Sands storm

Pete Sands always knew he would evolve as a singer-songwriter and BLACKKISS was a vessel that helped him figure out who he is and what he had to offer to the world of music, as his website, Sands Trading Co. (sandstradingcompany.com) reads.

BLACKKISS, his old acoustic music, helped him get through dark times and connect with those who were going through similar ordeals. When BLACKKISS’s dissolution came, “Pete Sands and the Drifters” was originated.

“Musically, I got a lot of tips from my friend Whitey Morgan and Shooter Jennings and Yelawolf, they gave me a lot of tips that kind of work in the business aspect of things,” Sands explained. “And just staying true to yourself because it’s so easy to go toward things that will sell and not necessarily what’s true to you. They taught me that.

“They told me that, ‘Man, you’re going into a genre where it’s dominated by cowboys. You’re Native American, bro, but you’ve got something. Just keep on it.’ And I did.”

Sands is also a photographer. He’s been shooting for years, trying to find his style.

“It took me a couple of years to figure out what I wanted to capture and stuff like that,” he said. “So, recently, I really hit the lens and cameras and everything like that.”

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Criticized for not being a traditional artist

Pete Sands is Naaneesht’ézhi Bitáá’chii’nii (Táchii’nii), meaning Red Ocher Forehead; and born for Tódích’íi’nii (Bitter Water), clans he inherited from his mother and his father, and clans that define who he is as a Diné.

“When I first started, even now, I used to get criticized because I’m not a traditional artist,” Sands said. “It’s one of those things where people will say, ‘Why don’ don’t you wear turquoise? Why don’t you wear jewelry? Or something Native, something Navajo.

“For me, it comes down to respecting the culture because I’m not a traditional artist. I don’t think I shouldn’t be representing I’m not.

But at the same time, you’ve got to respect the culture.”

Sands speaks the Diné language, Diné Bizaad fluently, and he still goes to ceremonies.

“That’s me, the heart of our (Diné) culture, is storytelling and that’s what I like doing,” he added. “Native Americans are original storytellers. So, that’s what I take away from this. A lot of the songs we sing, the traditional songs and (the) stories.”

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t’s not every day that someone could sit at one of the overlooks along the canyon rim and enjoy a cup of coffee in silence. Somedays you may see a morning bike rider or a jogger up on the ridge, only to stop for a brief moment to engage in the morning ritual of witnessing the majestic rise of the sun.

The striking colorful morning sky that we all witness on our way to work, or the millions of tourists that flock to our state just to witness the Arizona landscape, such as the Grand Canyon.

In the not so distant past, tourists every morning look for the nearest front row seat for the main event in the predawn hours. Families from different parts of the world, standing there wrapped in blankets talking among themselves – some in languages I don’t understand. Photographers setting up their tripods dialing in their final adjustments, waiting for morning light to kiss the ridge along the Grand Canyon. Almost on que the pathway lights begin to dim, and the main event unfolds.

Phones start lighting up for selfies or streaming live for their private audience. Cameras start to click, photographers making more adjustment since the first shot didn’t come out exactly as they visualized. Children running around as their parents raise their voices to keep them from interrupting other guests’ moment of “awe.”

Just like the snap of the Infinity Gauntlet in the Avenger movie, the canyon rim falls silent. The deer and the elks roam around freely near the hotel grounds. There are traces of racoons that had roamed the park from the night before, just like they have before humans arrived.

Without the hundreds of daily visitors, the wildlife has come to reclaim their territory.

With only essential workers on the hotel property doing maintenance on the buildings, the Grand Canyon park seems like a scene from an apocalyptic movie.

Daily life in the park has change for many long-term employees. Work hours have been cut and an activity report is required for leaving the park for 24 hours. Employees who are Diné, or Navajo, are given a choice to stay and work or to leave until the pandemic is over. Employees working under a visa have been extended. Each one of us has been affected by this coronavirus pandemic in our own way in this park and each one of us is finding ways to overcome the quarantine order.

Some of the people in the park have chosen to stay indoors all the time but leave only for essential shopping and then coupe right back up after they’re done. Some of us cannot not resist the temptations of exploring the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon: Explore without the crowds; the air pollution; the noise pollution; and without the fear of catching airborne illness. It’s just you and Mother Nature.

Although I may not see my sons as often as I want to, I try to keep my head up thinking this pandemic will come to an irrupt end just as it has started. With all the news outlets giving people daily tabs on how many were infected and how many have died, it puts a huge dent on our spirits. I try to look for some of the positive situations in a time like this. There’s not many out there but being quarantined in this place has its blessings.

I mean it’s the Grand Canyon I wake up to every morning! The golden eagle, the condors, the hawks, and those curious little squirrels – this is a photographer’s gold mine!

I would spend literally hours for the right lighting of the sun and take multiple shots to get a landscape photo. And if I wanted to put wildlife in the photo, I would have to make quick adjustments in a heartbeat. They’re always moving and very unpredictable, just like people.

Other positives in this quarantine situation is that life slows down. You get to take

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the time to meet and get to know other people. Just in the last few weeks I have befriended some Ecuadorians on our quarantined boat.

The Ecuadorians are college students working under a program for a few months, for college credit. With the impact of the coronavirus pandemic the Ecuadorians have no place to go but wait for the travel restrictions to lift in their home country.

If it weren’t for the repetitive food menu being served daily to the employees, I wouldn’t have gotten to know them. They make food from their home country after I pitched the idea that I would provide the ingredients. When they come over to my apartment to cook, they spent hours talking about their hometown, their culture, history, and their Native language. So far, I have tried three of their everyday meals, often on the menu in a Mexican restaurant. The difference is that Ecuadorians don’t eat with spices.

With social distancing being a key element in preventing the spread, we no longer have dinner get- togethers. Restrictions tightening up for the park we have to find other ways to keep life interesting. I find myself being more active than usual with my 24-hour a week work schedule. I just recently hiked the Bright Angel Trail from the lodge to the river and back in a day. There were only four people on the trail that day I went. Normally, the trails are packed during this season.

Every day I read up on the news hoping this current situation turns around for the better. I am ready for life to get back to normal.

Just like the post 9/11 life, certain things will not be the same in society after COVID-19 clears. One day you’re going in and out of the airports freely, the next day you’re going through check points.

We can only imagine what a post coronavirus world is going to look like. For the time being we can just look forward to reopening of the parks, businesses, and visiting our loved ones.

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