Dark Canyon

Benjamin Begay knows the land of southern Utah from his childhood and knows how to get into a person’s mind in order to figure out what the person is thinking. He works for a wilderness treatment program for troubled youth. Heading into Dark Canyon Ben knows that the kids that are assigned to him will be a handful, but also knows that by the time they are done each of them will have changed. When someone heads into Dark Canyon they bring with them all of their fears, but when they leave there is something inside of them that changes and they are not afraid anymore. This is if they can survive the canyon. There are dangers in the canyon rattlesnakes, mountain lions, and flash floods that can kill, but there is also the spirits of the canyon that can drive a person insane if they are not able to understand what the canyon is telling them. The darkest fears come out when they go into Dark Canyon, and if they are unable to get control of those fears they will be consumed by them. Ben having his ancestral roots in Navajo know of the stories of Dark Canyon and how the spirits of the dead haunt the place. He knows that if they are not respectful of those spirits they will destroy them. He fears parts of the canyon where there are ancient ruins, but he knows that if he honors those spirits he will gain wisdom from them and be able to turn the path of the children he leads into the canyon.

Chris Fife has written several fiction and non-fiction books. He has a master’s degree in education and has taught for over fifteen years teaching health, science, PE, geography, and history in secondary schools. He spends his free time reading, writing, gardening, hiking, and serving in his church in various activities. Chris has been involved in the Boy Scout organization for more than eight years, and has done a lot of training in the outdoors. He lives in Utah with his family.