The dome-shaped, octagonal structures most commonly seen on the reservation, called female hogans, are generally used for daily living. Male hogans, which are shaped like teepees with a doorway and look a little like mud-covered igloos, are mainly used for ceremonial purposes. At the Country of Many Hogan Bed and Breakfast, Loretta explains that her husband built a hogan of each type on the remote site at the base of Boot Mesa specifically for use as a bed and breakfast, using cedar logs hauled from hundreds of miles away. Guests stay in one hogan, while the family members who maintain them occupy the other. It's too soon to tell whether the business will be a moneymaker, she says.
Bookings are sporadic and seasonal.
The family has had 30 bookings since opening for business a year ago, enough to pay off about half the cost of constructing the hogans. But it's an experience as well as a means of collecting revenue. Officially, Ray is the business operator, although he considers the business a family-run enterprise. And it's clear that it is a family affair. As the sun crests the red sandstone buttes the next morning, Ray's mother prepares a breakfast of ham and potatoes with warm flat bread, juice and a pot of coffee.