You can get an up close look at an ancient—but still functioning—Navajo community when you visit the Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeast Arizona. You can even stay within the park’s boundaries, at the Thunderbird Lodge, a 73-room, adobe-style motel with plenty of Native American charm. Its dining room—an all-day cafeteria—was the local trading post (and even the jail) back in 1896.

The park itself is a fascinating spot, a joint venture of the National Park Service and Navajo Nation. Since about 80 Navajo families still live at Canyon de Chelly, you can’t just wander it on your own, with the exception of one short hiking trail. Instead, you have to go accompanied by a park ranger or Navajo guide. The half-day tour (which can be upgraded to a full day) is a three-and-a-half-hour ride in a six-wheel vehicle that can go through shallow waters, stopping to check out pictographs and petroglyphs etched into rocks, ancient Navajo ruins, and prehistoric cliff dwellings tucked in the rock walls.

Available only in July, the lodge's "Back to Basics Family Package" offers a room for two adults and two kids at $365 a night ($280 with just one child). The deal includes:

• one-night stay in a “de Chelly” room with two full beds (usually costs $118 for a family of four in July)
• half-day tour for four (usually costs $161 with two kids 12 or under, or $184 with teens)
• t-shirts for everybody (worth $25 apiece)

Deal or no deal? Nah. Booked without the package, the components for a family of four would come to $379 or $402, depending on your kids’ ages. So this package only saves you between $14 and $37. You'd be much better off—and be almost $100 richer— if you booked on your own and skipped the t-shirts. For reservations, call 800/679-2473 or 928/674-5841.