Natural and Human Wonders in Northeast Arizona
This trip took us to northeastern Arizona – Winslow, Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly. It was first planned three years ago, but due to shortage of time we traveled to Cimarron, New Mexico instead…and Cimarron turned out to be a great destination. In early 2010 we had a plan to travel to the Azores in the spring, but realizing that is not the best time for good weather in the islands, we revived the trip to Navajo country.
The key question again was weather: the records were favorable. That part of the “Four Corners” area is not a good destination in summer, or winter. But by mid-March, we could expect temperatures in the 50s during the day and high 30s at night. Neither Canyon de Chelly nor Monument Valley was a destination for students during “spring break!” And there were lots of travel articles praising the new hotel in Monument Valley…so we decided to get there before the crowds! (Three years ago there was no good hotel in the Valley, so our delay was for the best.)
Packing was easy as there were no “dress-up” spots on the itinerary (the Turquoise Room at La Posada in Winslow has food to die for but you do not have to dress to kill.) The weather projection called for no special gear, just the usual arrangement of dressing in layers to accommodate the temperature change during the day. We had five stops in a week’s trip, so we’d be constantly packing and unpacking and moving suitcases in and out of hotels - mandating that you don’t take that extra sweater “just in case!”
Loaded with maps, guidebooks, and cameras, off we went.
Saturday, March 13, 2010 – On the Road Again
We headed out about 11:30 a.m. and stopped for lunch at Sparky’s – an amazing place in Hatch, on the edge of the Green Chile Capital of New Mexico. Sparky’s is loaded with kitsch…and has great sandwiches AND espresso, in the middle of nowhere. Then we drove north on the back road to Socorro, where we stopped to relax after a long week of work, and get ready for the following day’s drive. A pause here is key in planning - from Socorro west lie another 200 miles until motel accommodations re-appear! We dined at the Socorro Springs Brewing Company, which offers pizza and various Italian dishes and its home-brewed beer, and better yet is in walking distance of both the Holiday Inn Express and the Best Western at the northern end of town.
Sunday March 14, 2010 – Socorro NM to Winslow AZ through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest
After a light breakfast at the Best Western we headed west about 9 am on US 60, passing the Very Large Array, all 27 telescopes of which were clustered together on one side of the road – first time we have ever seen that. (The VLA is a radio-telescope observatory run by the NSF, on the “Plains of Augustine west of the old mining town of Magdalena). We had expected to stop at Pie Town, at the Daily Pie or the Pie Town Café, but neither was open that early on a Sunday morning…so we carried on, past the Continental Divide at more or less 8000 feet. After replenishing with coffee in Springerville, we headed for late breakfast/lunch at Iggy’s in St. John’s - an amazing place, where all of the (six) booths are decorated from top to bottom with different themes – Hollywood with Marilyn Monroe; Chiles; a tropical ocean scene; and so forth. We guessed, and the staff confirmed, it took the owners many hundreds, even thousands, of hours to assemble it all. Worth a stop just to see the decor – the food was pretty good too!
North from St. John’s on US 180 was an easy drive through the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park. We had been that way before, but this was a wonderful day for the detour - perfect skies with puffy clouds and no wind. A strange Chihuahuan raven accompanied us all the way through the park!
On leaving the park we had to get on I-40 for about 30 miles, with endless queues of 18-wheelers, in order to reach Winslow, our destination for the night. Winslow is known to some for its location on Route 66 – fully exploited by the gift shops – and to others for its mention in a 70s song by the Eagles (“standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona”). Yet others might know it as the site of an airport designed by Charles Lindbergh for the incipient TWA. But its full glory was as the home for the last Harvey House and hotel, designed by Mary Coulter for the Santa Fe RR. The hotel, La Posada, has been lovingly restored by two dedicated souls, and its Turquoise Room is one of the best restaurants for hundreds of miles (as we would be reminded during the rest of our trip). Dinner and breakfast here were part of the destination, along with the hotel itself. And the dinner and breakfast did not disappoint!
Trip to Monument Valley Photos
Monday, March 15. Hopi and Navajo Country
After a stop at the grocery for trip supplies, we went north directly from Winslow. This route took us through the First and Second Mesas of the Hopi Reservation (an odd kind of Russian doll set-up, as there is a Navajo Reservation fragment inside the Hopi Reservation, which in turn is inside the Navajo Nation). The scenery changes dramatically along the drive, high plateaus leading to steep descents and ascents, as you make your way to Tuba City. (The name is a corruption of a Hopi word, but now Tuba City sponsors a Tuba Festival so they must be resigned to Tuba!). The road to Monument Valley begins at Kayenta, east of Tuba City, and you actually cross into Utah before dipping back into Arizona to find the entrance to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and the new hotel, The View.
Tuesday, March 16 Monument Valley and The View
And what did we do once there? View Monument Valley! And, we drove a loop road among the monumental formations…hiked a three-mile loop…took lots of pictures, including getting up early both mornings to capture the sun rising behind the “Mittens.’ A very good visitor center sets out the history of the Navajo, with a strong focus on the Code Talkers of World War II. Any other activity required a Navajo guide, either on foot, horseback or car.
The hotel provided a fantastic viewpoint over some truly extraordinary geological formations. But the hotel management was not very well organized; the food was not really very good (stick with the salad bar) and you are a prisoner of the hotel in that regard. Savvy travelers might bring plenty of fruit, cheese and crackers to enjoy on their balcony…unlike many other spots in the southwest we did not feel that we needed to return.
Wednesday, March 17 – Return to Canyon de Chelly
After two nights and a full day we packed out to Canyon de Chelly, via Kayenta and AZ route 59, running along the Black Mesa most of the way. Route 59 is yet another beautiful drive, and very relaxing; hardly a vehicle was seen during the 100 miles of the drive. Arriving in Chinle, we stopped briefly at the grocery store (where we saw our first ever Mutton department) and then headed to the Holiday Inn, built in a former trading post, to check in (by all accounts this is the best of the three options in Chinle). But they weren’t ready for us, so we drove out along the north rim of the Canyon de Chelly. This is a magical experience, with stops at the various posts where you can see down into the canyon, and pick out archaeological ruins, talk to the Navajo vendors who sell jewelry and stones with painted or engraved Navajo symbols …some have wonderful names – Rodney; Benny…Joe Indian.
Back to the hotel, they’re still not ready…and the lunch ended at 1 pm at the Holiday Inn, so we went to lunch at the Best Western and then toured the south rim. Making the mistake, entirely my fault, of not going first to the most distant point, Spider Rock, and working back…but still beautiful views even though the light was not right (one more trip required!). And then back, at last to check in and have dinner – TROUT! A much more efficient staff than the View, perhaps due to the national chain affiliation…
Thursday March 18 – Into the Canyon
The following day we entered the canyon with a Navajo guide, travelling in his vehicle – thank heavens, as the water was running in the canyon and all the vehicles there were covered with mud. The guide provided most enjoyable running commentary, with a whacky sense of humor. We appreciated an amazingly different view of the ruins and the cliffs. We’d not done that drive on our earlier visit and it was well worth the return trip! The guide was Deswood Yazzie, who can be contacted via the Holiday Inn in Chinle.
Cleaned up and packed out, we drove out along the north rim to AZ 12, and turned south. AZ 12 is a high road that parallels the AZ-NM border – we saw lots of snow and even folks ice fishing on a big lake. 12 leads eventually to Window Rock, headquarters of the Navajo Nation – and then on to Gallup, just on the southern rim of the Navajo reservation.
Here we met Adriel Heisey and his wife Holly; Adriel is the chief pilot for the Navajo Nation, and has done spectacular aerial photography of the southwest. Some of his work is now being installed at the visitor center at Chaco Canyon and is also featured in PBS films about the area. His photographs were featured in an exhibit at the Centennial in late 2009 and we had the pleasure of hosting him at a small dinner party when he flew down from Gallup to give a talk on his work. Our original plan was to go to the El Rancho Hotel and restaurant, a classic place where John Wayne, Katherine Hepburn and Ronald Reagan, among others, stayed and dined while filming (and it’s a classic place, definitely worth a stop) – but instead we dined at the new Badlands Grill, right next to the municipal airport entrance – good food and some unusual offerings (a baseball steak, anyone?).
Friday, March 19 – Stormy Weather
The next morning Adriel took us up one at a time (the plane was a two-seater, meaning two sitting on the floor, and two not very large persons at that!) to various places such as Chaco Canyon or Zuni Pueblo. Wonderful! As we finished up, a front that had been “pending” became very imminent, and we fled. First we drove south as we had intended, to cross to El Morro National Monument and then to Quemado and west on US 360, but a few miles of intensifying snow made us turn around and head for I-40. The storm pursued us at 75 mph for two hours across I-40, and even after we turned south blasted us with high winds – but no more snow. PHOTO We were grateful not to be heading further east as the interstate was closed that night from Albuquerque and many travelers were trapped in their vehicles. This was the only bad weather on the entire trip, and once we got ahead of it, it became an exciting memory!
That night we stayed in Truth or Consequences and revived in the mineral springs there. We have found a lovely spot, the Riverbend Hot Springs, with mineral baths right on the river bank – although unfortunately lots of other people have found it as well, and it’s really necessary now to reserve a private pool to avoid the crowds in the public space. We enjoyed a light supper at Bella Luca, a wonderful Italian place in a former hardware store – with an embossed copper ceiling revealed when the false ceiling was removed!
Saturday, March 20 – End of the Road
The next morning was a short walk in the park, just 115 miles to El Paso and sunshine. Seven days almost exactly, as we returned at 11:30!
This is just one example of the incredible trips that can be made from El Paso, mostly on roads with very low traffic, driving through incredible landscapes. There is much more to be explored, and we’ll do our best!