Gallup, NM - Holbrook, AZ

SOUTHWESTERN USA
RS ROAD TRIP




August 25, 2017 (Day 18)

Gallup, NM to Holbrook, AZ
Miles Today: 118 / Total Trip Miles: 2,861

Today's Route

(Click on map to enlarge)

The route from Gallup, New Mexico (elevation 6,500 ft) to Holbrook, Arizona (5,100 ft) follows Interstate Highway 40. The Gallup-Holbrook section of Route 66 has, for the most part, been replaced by interstate highway. The historic alignment of Route 66 still exists through the towns that have been by-passed by the freeway. Weather was hot with temperatures reaching the high 90s Fahrenheit.
The Painted Desert runs through the Four Corners area —stretching  from near the east end of Grand Canyon National Park into Petrified Forest National Park. It is most easily accessed in the north portion of Petrified Forest National Park. The Painted Desert is known for its brilliant and varied colors—including the more common red rock, and even shades of lavender. Elevations within Petrified Forest National Park range from a high of 6,200 feet to a low of 5,300 feet.

The Painted Desert was named in 1540 by an expedition under Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado during his quest to find the Seven Cities of Cibola (located some forty miles east of Petrified Forest National Park). Traveling through this wonderland of colors, they named the area "El Desierto Pintado" (The Painted Desert). Much of the Painted Desert within Petrified Forest National Park is protected as Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area where motorized travel is limited. 



PHOTOS
(Click on Photo for a Larger Image

Navajo Land

This roadside stand selling Navajo rugs and petrified wood to vacationers traveling along Route 66 was started in the 1950's by the Yellowhorse family. Location: Lupton, Arizona.

{Photo on flickr}

Fort Courage

This out-of-business tourist-trap, while not officially affiliated with the late 1960s TV show F Troop, sold F Troop merchandise and displayed actual F Troop props. During the late 1960s and 1970s, this was a popular stop for travelers along Route 66 and Interstate 40. Among the amenities were a coffee shop, gas station, grocery store, trading post, motel units, trailer park and campground. The fort and general store are in remarkably good shape, while the now-fenced-off pancake house looks significantly more desolate. Location: Houck, Arizona.

{Photo on flickr}

Tiponi Point

The Tiponi Point overlook provides panoramic views of the Painted Desert section of Petrified Forest National Park.

{Photo on flickr}

Window to the Painted Desert

The Painted Desert Inn (1924) was built with wood and stone in the Pueblo Revival style with flagstone terraces and earth-textured walls that are two feet thick. In 1940, the Fred Harvey Company managed the inn, serving passengers traveling the Santa Fe Railway. In 1942 the inn closed. In 1947, architect Mary Jane Colter renovated the inn with a new color scheme and glass windows displaying the surrounding landscape—a pioneering style of architecture that brought the essence of the outdoors inside. The interior lunchroom, where the Harvey Girls served hungry train passengers, features murals painted by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie. 

The inn closed again in 1963 and was scheduled for demolition in 1976. The National Park Service stepped in and saved the inn by listing it on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1987, the secretary of the interior designated the inn a National Historic Landmark. The Painted Desert Inn reopened in 2006. Though it no longer operates as a hotel and restaurant, the museum and bookstore feature extraordinary architectural details, such as hammered-tin chandeliers, local pottery, and a vivid mountain lion petroglyph, one of the finest in the region.

{Photo on flickr}

Studebaker in the Badlands

This 1932 Studebaker sits in the badlands of the Petrified Forest, The Petrified Forest is the only national park in the country with a portion of Historic Route 66 within its boundaries. This location shown in the photo is where the Mother Road used to run. The line of telephone poles parallels its alignment through the park. This stretch of Route 66 was open from 1926 until 1958, and was the primary way millions of travelers initially experienced the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. 

{Photo on flickr}

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Tomorrow
Mary and I explore the southern section of Petrified Forest National Park.

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Copyright
These photographs are the property of Leon Jackson, and are protected by copyright laws. Photographs may not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Leon Jackson. © 2017 Leon Jackson. All Rights Reserved.

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