Church Rock is a 400-foot-tall volcanic plug just east of Kayenta, Arizona on Route 160 in the Navajo Nation. In this photo, I am facing east on April 24, 2023, looking towards Four Corners.
Eight years earlier when I was here in July, it was raining as well. Judging by my own experience, it rains here every day and the skies here are always troubled by lightning. Always.
Others tell me the average rainfall here is only six inches a year, that it hardly ever rains. Should I believe others or trust my own eyes?
One profound sign of civilization is to trust what others say even when our own experience is different. Of course, another sign of civilization is to trust but verify.