Getting the flavor of...America’s largest Indian reservation, and more

America’s largest Indian reservation

Navajo Nation isn’t just drive-through territory, said Ellen Scolnic in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Though it’s the largest tribal reservation in the U.S., many travelers heading to Lake Powell or the Grand Canyon pass through the 27,000-square-mile territory without stopping. But “the Rez,” which stretches across parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, merits exploring. Just outside Chinle, Ariz., the red sandstone walls of Canyon de Chelly have offered shelter to native peoples for 5,000 years. A local Navajo guide gave us a jeep tour of the canyon, showing us ancient dwellings and petroglyphs as well as the current residents’ farms. At Window Rock, the capital of Navajo Nation, there’s a free zoo and a museum that might be most interesting for the community talks it hosts. After that stop, “I was in the mood for some shopping,” and satisfied that urge nearby at the Navajo Arts and Crafts Enterprise, the tribe’s official retail outle

Post-hurricane Atlantic City

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Despite some reports to the contrary, New Jersey’s Atlantic City is “open for business,” said Seth Kugel in NYTimes.com. When Hurricane Sandy pummeled Jersey’s coast farther north, a news network at one point told its audience that the city’s famous boardwalk had been destroyed. But except for a section that fronts a residential neighborhood, “the legendary promenade, lined with casinos and palm readers, was barely damaged at all.” Stopping into town to check on the recovery, I ran across a parade of local civic boosters, led by some Elvis and Michael Jackson impersonators who were marching down the boardwalk to spread the good news. I broke away to check on a large-scale public art project that suffered little damage, then wandered over to a popular sub shop that Sandy had shuttered. But all seemed fine at the Taj Mahal, where I won $60 on the slots. I invested it in the city’s recovery—by buying saltwater taffy.