Norwegen uber alles

On the way to the eastern entrance to Grand Canyon National Park, we drove past several places selling Indian art. Normally I wouldn't be all that interested in such stuff, especially since it seems to be standard fare these days to sell various new agey ideas as a part of the package, instead of appreciating it just as art. However, my curiosity was piqued beyond resistance when we suddenly drove past a shaky structure out in the desert where three flags waved in the breeze - the Arizona state flag, some Indian looking thingy and... the NORWEGIAN flag. Wtf? I hit the brakes and turned around.

Turns out the Navajo guy who ran the shop - basically just a few tables, some wooden poles and some canvas - had gotten several Norwegian customers, and they were usually generous buyers. So when someone had bought stuff for more than $500 last year, he'd taken down a German flag and hoisted the Norwegian one instead. Needless to say, I was in stitches... regular readers will be familiar with my loathing of Krauts.

In addition, the guy was nice. We stood there for a long time, talking, admiring his art and craft and that of his sister, who soon joined us. They showed us polished and unpolished rocks they used in making the jewelry, they showed us artwork made by their nephew, and they even had fossilized dinosaur poo that had been polished to look like very pretty stones. Nice people and nice stuff. I only had $96 on me in cash, or I would have bought more, but I left the place with a handful of bracelets, necklaces and earrings for gifts to people back home. Here's a small selection: