#Navajo-Nation

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DziłTa’ah Adventures is Open for Business and Advocating for Guided Bike Tours in Navajoland

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DziłTa’ah Adventures is Open for Business and Advocating for Guided Bike Tours in Navajoland

Founded in 2016 by Jon Yazzie and Nadine Johnson, DziłTa’ah Adventures runs bike and packraft tours from their home base in the town of Kayenta inside the Navajo Nation. While we’ve documented multiple experiences with the nascent outfitter – including Hunt’s Mesa, John’s Canyon, Yellow Dirt routes, and others – getting the business off the ground hasn’t been easy for John and Nadine. Last winter, Josh Weinberg reconnected with Jon, along with a group of photographers including Chris Burkard, Jeremy Bishop, and Murray Smith for an unforgettable tour along one of DziłTa’ah Adventures’ most popular routes to learn about what’s next for their guiding operation…

Dził Diyiní Biyí Iiná Hóló: Life Within the Sacred Mountains at Rezduro 2022

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Dził Diyiní Biyí Iiná Hóló: Life Within the Sacred Mountains at Rezduro 2022

Rezduro takes place in the remote community of Hardrock, Arizona which is located on the Black Mesa plateau/region on the Navajo Nation. What started out as a vision by Nigel James and friends has turned into the first and only Indigenous-led mountain bike enduro race. Nigel James dreamed of bridging his grandparents’ sheep herding trails with his passion for mountain bike enduro racing as a result, Rezduro was born in 2021. Rezduro is organized by Diné (the Navajo people) on Diné lands.

Catching up with Karl: Bikes for Buddies and his Rusty Trucker Mountain Cruiser

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Catching up with Karl: Bikes for Buddies and his Rusty Trucker Mountain Cruiser

Back in 2020, Cjell Monē and I wrote about our friend Karl Artis‘ eclectic bike collection and his collaborative “Bikes for Buddies” fundraiser with Matt Whitman, which raised enough money to purchase fifty bikes for youngsters in need. Since then, Karl has added even more bikes to his personal cache, including an enviable custom mountain cruiser, and finally found a home for the youth bikes after months of pandemic-induced hiccups. I recently met up with Karl and a crew of other friends – who were fresh off a weekend of building and donating bikes – to check out Karl’s new cruiser and enjoy some metamorphic chunder on the trails of North Phoenix.

SOLD OUT: Our September Photo Print Benefits Dzil Ta’ah Adventures

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SOLD OUT: Our September Photo Print Benefits Dzil Ta’ah Adventures

For our photography print this month, we’ve selected a landscape photo from our Yellow Dirt Reportage with Dzil Ta’ah Adventures in Kayenta, Arizona. 100% of the profits from the sale of this print will be sent to Nadine and Jon to use in their bikepacking adventures program with Diné youth.

This print is offered in a limited run of 10.

Each 20″x 16″ 1/10 edition print is signed and dated. They’re printed on Fuji paper in a digital darkroom emulsion process. These prints were made in Santa Fe, New Mexico by Visions Photo Lab.

Price is $250 + shipping via USPS Priority in the United States only!

In stock now at the Radavist Web Shop. These are sold out! Thank you!

Singletracks Podcast Interviews Jon from Dzil Ta’ah Adventures

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Singletracks Podcast Interviews Jon from Dzil Ta’ah Adventures

Our friends Nadine and John from Dzil Ta’ah Adventures have been receiving a lot of press lately and the latest in the torrent is the Singletracks podcast. Give it a listen to hear the motivations behind Dzil Ta’ah Adventures, and what they’re doing within the Navajo Nation to enable their community to ride bikes.

Check out our Related archives below for the work we’ve done with Dzil Ta’ah Adventures in the past, including this year’s Yellow Dirt Route Reportage.

 

Jon and Nadine’s Dzil Ta’ah Adventures Are in Condé Nast Travel

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Jon and Nadine’s Dzil Ta’ah Adventures Are in Condé Nast Travel

Our friends Jon and Nadine’s cyclo-tourism company, Dzil Ta’ah Adventures, based in the Navajo Nation town of Kayenta made it to the travel segment of Condé Nast. We’ve done a few stories with Dzil Ta’ah Adventures over the years, so after you check this out, be sure to visit our archives in the Related footer below…

“It’s important for Navajo Nation to be in charge of this story, because more often than not, that story has been told for, not by, Navajo people,” says Navajo Nation member Donovan Hanley, a legislative staff assistant spearheading tourism development for Navajo Nation Council’s Office of the Speaker. “Jon’s push to tell stories on bikes, the push for adventure, responsible tourism, and sustainable tourism—it really aligns with the Navajo way of life.”

Read the full piece at Condé Nast Travel!

Resourcefulness and a Community Endeavor: Silver Stallion Bicycle and Coffee Works in Gallup, NM

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Resourcefulness and a Community Endeavor: Silver Stallion Bicycle and Coffee Works in Gallup, NM

A while back, we featured the photography of Shaun Marcus and the writing of Jon Yazzie in our Reportage section, documenting the Dzil ta’ah Adventures Navajo Youth Bike-Packrafting Adventure Series. That story took place in Nazlini, AZ, and it served as an introduction to the readers of the Radavist about the Silver Stallion Bicycle and Coffee Works. All last year, the Navajo Nation fought the Covid-19 pandemic, as it spread across the expansive reservation which covers over 27,000 miles of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. This year, with the vaccination efforts pushing forward, I felt like it was finally safe to travel three hours south to Gallup, New Mexico upon invitation to get a first-hand experience of what the Silver Stallion has been up to…

The Radavist 2021 Calendar: June

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The Radavist 2021 Calendar: June

“Light and Layers” is the sixth layout of the Radavist 2021 Calendar. It was shot with a Sony A9ii and a Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 di iii rxd lens in Kayenta, AZ.

“We’ll be offering this image from our Yellow Dirt Reportage as a photographic print in the next few weeks, with all proceeds going to Dzil Ta’ah Adventures but we wanted to offer it up as a free desktop wallpaper first…”

For a high-res JPG, suitable for print and desktop wallpaper*, right-click and save link as – The Radavist 2021 – June. Please, this photo is for personal use only!
(*set background to white and center for optimal coverage)

The mobile background this month is from a watering hole on our route. Click here to download June’s Mobile Wallpaper.

Education Through Experiences: Bikepacking the Yellow Dirt Route onto Comb Ridge with Dzil Ta’ah Adventures

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Education Through Experiences: Bikepacking the Yellow Dirt Route onto Comb Ridge with Dzil Ta’ah Adventures

In the Navajo Nation town of Kayenta, Arizona, Jon Yazzie runs a guide company called Dzil Ta’ah Adventures. Its intent is to educate visitors on the history of the areas surrounding Kayenta through guided bike trips. This particular route is one he’s been working on for a while which parallels the mighty Comb Ridge before climbing the Sandstone Backbone via an old Mormon dugway, overlooking Kane Valley where the US government drilled into the Earth, uncovering uranium for the Manhattan Project. The result would send waves of radiation through the community for decades to come…

Jon Yazzie from Dzil Ta’ah Adventures and His Ti Vassago Optimus 29+ SS Bikepacking Rig

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Jon Yazzie from Dzil Ta’ah Adventures and His Ti Vassago Optimus 29+ SS Bikepacking Rig

We rolled back into Kayenta from an overnighter with Jon Yazzie from Dzil Ta’ah Adventures and I reminded him that I wanted to shoot his bike. “Yeah! Leave the bags on it. As is…” I said to him. Jon took a few moments to tidy up the straps and make sure the bags were tight and neat before handing it off to me. He loves this bike and so I took it as an honor to photograph it. For me, there’s nothing better than riding with the person whose bike you’re documenting. It feels less transactional and more personal. You get to see how they treat their ride. Are they crashers or thrashers? In doing so, there’s a real connection that’s established. For Jon and I, we’ve spent a few years communicating over email when projects arise. Josh has done an exceptional job documenting Dzil Ta’ah Adventures’ trips in Arizona in the past and this trip was the first time I met Jon in person. It felt like a no-brainer to shoot his titanium Vassago Optimus 29+ tourer, so check it out in detail below.

Coming Off a Wonderful Weekend With Silver Stallion in the Navajo Nation

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Coming Off a Wonderful Weekend With Silver Stallion in the Navajo Nation

Things are moving a bit slow over here this morning after I spent the weekend in Arizona with the Silver Stallion team riding trails with kids and documenting a very busy Sunday in Fort Defiance at the Silver Stallion mobile bike shop pop-up in the Navajo Nation. Being present while this team worked all day in the sun and wind on its community’s bikes was a wonderful thing to witness, so expect some Reportage coming up next week. For now, I just wanted to say thank you to the entire Silver Stallion team for being such great hosts.