Leaving the rugged mesa and canyon country of western New Mexico the high desert of northeastern Arizona rolls towards the horizon.
This is a dry land, skirted on the south by the Little Colorado River and laced with intermittent creek beds that only flow during spring snow melt and thunderstorms of the late summer monsoon season, if then.
Northeastern Arizona is home to the Navajo and Hopi Reservations, both of which have closed or restricted access to the few visitor sites due to the pandemic. Our path skirts the southern and western edge of these massive reservations and provides a variety of interesting experiences.
Petrified Forest National Park
During the Triassic Period, 225 million years ago, northeastern Arizona was hot, humid and home to dense forests. Early dinosaurs and other creatures roamed the area. As the climate changed over the eons, the desert landscape as we know today came into being. One of the results is that remnants of the great forests became encased in sand and gradually “fossilized”, turning into rock. Petrified Forest National Park consists of two units. North of the interstate is the Painted Desert, south of the interstate are the petrified forests. As people traveled through the area in the late 1800’s interest grew in the petrified wood and in 1885 the Arizona Territorial Legislature petitioned the US Congress to protect the area. President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation creating the Petrified Forest National Monument in 1906 and the area became a national park in 1962. The original Route 66 crossed the northern part of the protected area and in the late 1930’s a small inn overlooking the colorful desert was remodeled by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of the government response to the Great Depression into the Painted Desert Inn, now serving as visitor center for the national park.
South of the main building are a few of the remaining adobe cabins where travelers once stayed.
The inn functions now as a small museum but due to the Covid pandemic it is temporarily closed so my path bypasses the inn and heads out back to the viewpoint which overlooks the Painted Desert. The view to the northeast and southeast is of a multi-colored eroded desert, it’s clear how the area got its name.
Turning around I see the Painted Desert Inn framed by the surrounding desert with the Lunch Box in the background.
The inn was first built by Herbert Lore in the early 1920’s and looked very different than it does today. The inn was built in the Craftsman style popular at the time using the plentiful petrified wood to the south for much of the building material. The National Park Service purchased the building in 1936 and remodeled the building in the Pueblo Revival style seen today. Remnants of the original building can be seen in the petrified wood that surrounds what was the original main entrance.
Turning south the road skirts the southern edge of the eroded area with the desert stertching to the south while the badlands are to the north.
The desert is greener than normal because the summer monsoon season has been good to Arizona this year with more rain than usual. For thousands of years the Little Colorado River provided a path for humans to cross this hostile environment. Many settled along the river and its tributaries (most of which are dry the majority of the year), farming in the river flood plain (growing corn, beans and squash) and building small pueblos before moving on as the climate changed. The Puerco Pueblo was inhabited around 1250 AD by the seasonal Rio Puerco, eventually containing around 100 rooms. Foundations of the pueblo are scattered around a small rise south of the flood plain.
The road continues south and the landscape becomes more arid. Newspaper Rock is the name given to a cliff of jumbled rocks at the base of sandstone cliffs which is home to more than 650 pictographs.
Our path continues to wind between eroded badlands and open plains.
I turn a corner and pieces of petrified trees begin to be seen scattered across the desert. Millions of years ago a large tree fell into a river and was rapidly covered with sediment, quickly preventing decay. Today the fossilized tree is called the Agate Bridge as it spans a narrow crevasse carved by rain and snow over the eons. The concrete span that now helps support it was built in 1917 in an effort to keep the tree from breaking and falling to the ground below. The wooden barricades are an attempt to keep people off the tree.
There are three main “forests” of petrified trees in Petrified Trees National Park. Just after the Agate Bridge I come upon the first of those, the Jasper Forest.
The second, the Crystal Forest, sprawls across the rolling land of sand, gravel and brush.
Near the southern end of the park, the Rainbow Forest is the site of an ancient log jam. Giant petrified logs scatter the hills behind the visitor center.
The path curves up and around through the ancient cluster of fossilized trees.
A mile from the visitor center the road ends and we turn north on Hwy 180 to return to Holbrook and head west to Flagstaff. You can’t visit the area without noting all of the places peddling rocks and fossils. Some are more entertaining than others…
Holbrook, AZ
Holbrook sits on the northern bank of the Little Colorado River (remembering in the dry southwest it seems like any year-round source of water is called a river; the stream was about two feet wide and six inches deep at the bridge leading into Holbrook.) In 1857 the US Army laid out a wagon road heading west through the area and Horsehead Crossing was the site where the road forded the wide river bed (even though the water stream is quite small, ferocious floods frequently changed the path of the river over a wide flood plain and even today downtown Holbrook is protected by a high levee that runs parallel to the train tracks that form the southern boundary of town.) The railroad came through in 1881 and a station was established near Horsehead Crossing and named Holbrook. The historic Navajo County Courthouse was built three blocks north of the railroad tracks in 1898.
Holbrook slumbered on as a small stop on the railroad tracks for years until the arrival of famed highway Route 66 in 1926. The highway pierced the center of town, descending from low bluffs to the north down Navajo Street and then taking a hard right on Hopi Street heading due west towards Flagstaff. The highway was paved in 1929 just in time to serve as the primary path for the thousands of refugees from the Dust Bowl of the early 1930’s as desperate people packed all they could carry and headed for California. Until the construction of Interstate 40 in the 1960’s, Holbrook was a primary resting spot for weary travelers. Navajo and Hopi Streets were lined with modern motor courts and motels, each with a distinctive neon sign beckoning to the weary traveler. Unfortunately the completion of I-40 spelled the end of the boom. People can now travel farther and faster which lead to Holbrook losing its’ place as a natural stop along the way. The decline that began in the 1960’s continues to this day as nothing really replaced the level of economic stimulus that the travelers had provided. Today Navajo and Hopi Streets are lined with the slowly decaying memories of a bygone era…
One of the iconic motel chains of the era was the WigWam Motel. Seven of these motels were built across the United States during the 1930’s and 1940’s and the one in Holbrook is one of the three remaining.
I-40 replaced Hwy 66 all across northern Arizona, bypassing the small towns that historically served as stops for those who were traveling first on horse, then by train, and finally by automobile. Holbrook was a major stop in the 1950’s and 1960’s for those travelling by car, but earlier travelers by train stopped for the night 30 miles further west in the small town of Winslow.
Winslow
A division point on the Santa Fe Railroad was established about two miles west of the Little Colorado River crossing and the town of Winslow grew up as a child of the railroad. The town prospered into the 1920’s with the belief that it would soon rival Santa Fe, NM, as the premier town along the railroad through the southwest. That optimism prompted the building of one of the last magnificent railroad hotels in the West, La Posada, with a design by renowned southwestern architect Mary J. Colter. The hotel opened in 1930, just after the stock market crash, and was only open for 27 years before closing in 1957. The building was used as offices by the railroad for years and then slated for demolition before being rescued and restored in the late 1990’s. It now is a boutique hotel with an award-winning dining room next to the train tracks and an Amtrak train stops at the gates in the back.
The design is based upon a Spanish colonial mission model with arches and courtyards amidst the lush landscaping. Approaching from the street an arch beckons the weary traveler.
Once inside the forecourt, patios and gardens decorated with sculptures unfold within the two wings of the hotel.
Entering the front door one looks directly through to the back exit to the train.
On the right is the famed Turquoise Room, a restaurant that earned three stars from Conde Nast in 2009, on the left is a lounge and hall to the east hotel rooms.
Continuing out the back door, the gate to the train is right in front of us. Pergolas on both sides provide shade for waiting passengers.
A block west of the hotel is the main intersection of historic Winslow with a number of historic buildings.
Then I turn and face the REAL reason that Winslow attracts over 100,000 people a year to this intersection. This corner was enshrined in musical history when the Eagles 1972 classic includes the lyrics “Well, I’m a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me.” The rest is history… Tourists cluster at the corning taking selfies!
Leaving Winslow it’s back on I-40 heading west. For some time what looked like low clouds have been hovering on the horizon to the west, but now, about 40 miles east of Flagstaff it is clear that a natural “pyramid” is trusting up from the dusty plains.
The San Francisco Peaks are the remnant of a long dormant volcanoes and Humphrey’s Peak pierces the sky at 12,633 feet, the tallest mountain in Arizona. And yes, that’s snow on the top of those peaks. There are two ski areas in Arizona, one in the White Mountains east of Show Low and the other atop the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff. Nestled in the foothills at the southeastern base of the peaks is the former lumber town of Flagstaff. Our path skirts the northwestern edge of Flagstaff and we head north a short distance to Sunset Crater National Monument.
Sunset Crater National Monument
The mountains north of Flagstaff are volcanic in origin and the youngest is the Sunset Crater, last erupting sometime around 1000 AD. Today the cinder cone is surrounded by lava fields and pine forests.
Once around the volcanic area we are on the north side of the mountains and the high desert of northeastern Arizona rolls towards the horizon.
Ancestral Puebloans lived on these plains for hundreds of years, before and after volcanic eruptions. Living in an arid land, they relied upon small gardens built in natural low spots that were able to get the most benefit from the sporadic rains and snow. During the 1100s this area, at the intersection of the Ancestral Puebloans to the northwest, the Mogollon peoples to the southeast, and the Hohokam to the southwest, flourished and favorable weather conditions at the time supported a large population. Wupatki Pueblo became the center of this region and was the largest pueblo for 50 miles around. The pueblo grew to over 100 rooms and hosted a large community gathering place as well as a ball court, signifying that people from across the plateau would come here for community events. The complex is too big for me to be able to get it in one picture though this one captures most of it. The pueblo stretches across the top of a small hill and the circular area on the right is the community gathering spot.
The plain around Wupatki was dotted with smaller pueblos varying in size. Standing in the Wupatki parking lot one can see the tower of Wukoki Pueblo rising above the brush about two miles away.
Wukoki was occupied, probably by three families, from around 1120 AD to 1210 AD. The tower rises above a small plaza atop a rock pillar, giving commanding views of the surroundings.
The stairs on the right lead up onto the plaza where views open up on all sides.
Leaving Wupatki and heading northwest towards Highway 89 fourteen miles away several other ruins dot the land.
Back on Highway 89 and heading north the anticipation grows. The highway crosses the western edge of the plateau before we turn left on Highway 64.
Storm clouds are gathering as we gradually climb west up the plateau, transitioning from high desert to juniper forest and finally to a pine forest. The unknowing tourist who is visiting for the first time has no idea that one of the wonders of the world is hidden just feet to the north behind the screen of trees. A mix of rain and snow begins to hit the windshield so I don’t pause to explore, I’ll be returning this way and so will hopefully have better weather to stop along the way. One of the most outstanding natural wonders in the United States awaits.
Next up: The Glory of Mother Nature
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