After an one night stop in Bluff, Utah on the way to warmer temperatures – I crossed into northeastern Arizona and started across Navajo Nation land. The Navajo Nation has a few settlements, but they are few and far between and seemed to be pretty sparsely settled. The winds started coming up until they were about 35+ miles per hour and they were either hitting me head on or broadside from the west. Needless to say, my gas mileage was going down, down, down. I had started out with a full tank of gas and that was supposed to last me until I got to my destination. I stopped at several gas stations, but they were closed. I was down to a fuel range of about fifty miles. At the third gas station, I asked a Native why the gas stations were all closed. The Navajo Nation was on lockdown. Everything was shut down. He suggested that I go back about 100 miles to ShipRock for gas. Yeah, that wasn't going to work. Fortunately I found a gas station just a little further down the road. Let me tell you, the stress level was killing me. Then the winds picked up even more creating a huge dust storm. You could barely see the car in front of you.
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| It actually got worse than this picture |
I ended up at Homolovi State Park which is just a few miles away from Winslow. I had stayed here about five years ago – I wanted to have electricity so I could run a space heater along with my camper's heater. Even though they all advertise how well insulated these campers are, I am here to tell you that they aren't . It gets pretty chilly. I also wanted to see Hopi (Hope-ee) ruins which were built during the 13th century. The brochure says that there were an estimated 1,200-2,000 rooms built here. I have to say I was rather disappointed. It was mostly just a few piles of rocks. I guess I was expecting a little bit more.
Oh well, I found some other rather amazing things to do in this part of Arizona. I actually got to Stand On The Corner in Winslow Arizona. Time for a small commercial break:
Well, I'm 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
Credit to Jackson Browne and the Eagles
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| The corner complete with flat bed truck |
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| I'm standing with Carmella - her mom was taking the picture and she wanted to be in it |
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| Carmella, Me and the Other Guy |
Winslow Arizona seems to be a really sleepy little town. It is one of those towns that is on Route 66 (also known as The Mother Road) and then the freeway came along and bypassed it. Back in the day though, it was something. There is one of the grandest railroad hotels in the town. La Posada was the one of Fred Harvey's creations. Fred Harvey developed and ran all of the hotels and restaurants for the Santa Fe Railway. He thought that travelers should be able to have a good bed and a fine meal (complete with linen, silverware, china, crystal and impeccable service) during their journey. He was so famous for this that MGM made a movie called The Harvey Girls starring Judy Garland. La Posada fell on hard times, it ceased being a hotel in 1957 and was set to be demolished in 1994. Luckily, it was bought and has been quite nicely restored. Walking around inside is almost like being in a museum. The attention to detail and the quality of the furnishings was top-notch. Every public space had original art on the walls. The rooms are all named for people who have stayed there – Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Stewart, Howard Hughes, Harry Truman, Albert Einstein etc.
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| The Turquoise Room - the placemats were really unique |
No visit to Winslow would be complete without a visit to the world's smallest church, also called the Church of the Mother Road. I found it by chance in an little alley like alcove.
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