Across the Painted Desert on Route 66

ARIZONA LEGENDS

Across the Painted Desert on Route 66

As your Mother Road journey begins to cross Arizona you will travel through Navajo country, the Painted Desert, past the Petrified Forest, and more than a dozen small towns, of which, many are little more than a trading post, and of others, nothing but a ghost town. It is through this section that you can truly get a feel of what Route 66 might have been like long ago -- the small towns are still small towns, many of the Indians continue to make their living from the trading posts, and though not always in very good shape, original sections of the old pavement lie intact upon this section of Arizona's high desert.

Beautiful vermilion cliffs surround you on both side of the highway as you enter Arizona, setting the tone for the highly colored drive you are about to take.

Cliffs at the Arizona/New Mexico Border,

December, 2004, Kathy Weiser.

The original road from Lupton to Chambers closely follows I-40, mostly to the north of the interstate. There are pieces through here where the road is in bad shape and turns to gravel or dirt. From Chambers to Holbrook, the old road simply disappears or is on private property. There are exits from the interstate to the sites you may want to see through the Painted Desert, so your best bet might be to stay on I-40 from Lupton west to Holbrook.

Beginning your drive in Lupton, Arizona, a hardy welcome invites you from the high sandstone bluffs, where statuesque figures of deer, bear, and eagles peer down from above. Immediately, you are surrounded by a number of trading posts at the base of the cliff, selling all manner of Indian treasures. Several of these have been in business since the birth of Route 66, including the Tee-Pee Trading Post.

The Tee-Pee Trading Post in Lupton, Arizona has been

doing business since the birth of the Mother Road,

December, 2004, Kathy Weiser.

Soon you pass through Allentown on your way to Houck, where you can stop for a moment at Fort Courage, a mock-up fort inspired by the old television show F-Troop. Just past Houck at the Pine Springs Exit #346, you can follow an old alignment on the north frontage road, which crosses the box canyon, passes by the ruins of the Old Querino Canyon Trading Post and over the Querino Canyon Bridge. However, be aware that the north frontage road soon turns to dirt and can become impassible during rains and otherwise, is a rough ride.

As you head on through Sanders and Chambers to Navajo, you begin to see signs of the Painted Desert, with its multi-colored sand formations and tremendous views. The Painted Desert covers almost 100,000 acres, stretching from the Petrified Forest to the Grand Canyon. There are times that even the sky above this colorful park glows with the pink and purple hues of the desert.

It is just beyond Navajo that you can view the ruins of the Painted Desert Trading Post by taking exit #320 from I-40. Soon you will reach the Petrified Forest where hundreds of ancient trees lay scattered upon the mile high desert.

Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, © June, 2005

Fort Courage Trading Post, December, 2004,

Kathy Weiser.

The Painted Desert, January, 2003.

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

The Painted Desert, January, 2003

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

To the Petrified Forest

Return to Route 66

About Arizona 66

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