The trading post is in the Two Grey Hills area of the Navajo reservation, and has been in business since the beginning of the 20th century. The current owners, Mark Winter and Linda Larouche, operate the business in the old trading post system, dealing with local Navajos on the barter and trade system.
The post has a group of local Navajo weavers who produce excellent quality weavings which the trading post sells. Two Grey Hills weaving is distinctive in that no dyes are used - only natural wool colors are used, making the Two Grey Hills weavings all in shades of brown and natural and black and grey.
We spent a long time talking with Linda, one of the owners, and she was a wealth of information about the rugs they sell, as well as the Navajo people who live in the Toadlena Area. The trading post location is very remote, but she loves it there, and has found her niche as a lover of the area, the weavings and her Navajo customers, weavers, and friends.
What a wonderful place! I would have loved to leave with a rug, but they are very expensive, and we will need to think through such a purchase, maybe for the future.
While we were at Toadlena, it began snowing hard, and John, Linda, and I laughed about the crazy weather in west central New Mexico, where snow on April 29 is not surprising.
John got many many pictures at Toadlena:
Two Grey Hills rugs in the trading post museum:
Two Grey Hills:
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