Winslow, AZ

Holbrook/Petrified Forest KOA
October 30 - November 8, 2019
Holbrook, AZ

We arrived in Holbrook a couple of days early for a 9 night stay at the KOA.  


We chose Holbrook as it is pretty much in the center of two places we wanted to visit...Winslow, AZ and the Petrified Forest National Park. 





Winslow is about 30 miles away and was our first adventure while in the area...mainly because we were waiting for the weather to warm up and we really needed a stop at Walmart. There were three POIs here we wanted to see...   
1. Standin on the Corner Park (November 1)
The Eagles just happen to be my all time favorite band and I have been waiting a long time to stand on the corner in Winslow, AZ.  Their first song "Take it Easy" became a huge hit in 1977. 


"Take it Easy", co-written by Jackson Browne and Glen Frey, put Winslow on the map.
"The Corner", which opened as a park in 1999, is located on Route 66 in historic downtown Winslow and features a life size bronze statue of a balladeer known as Easy which resembles Browne.  Frey said in an interview that Browne came up with the line after getting stranded in Winslow and was stumped on how to finish the verse.  Frey and Browne were neighbors at the time.  It was Frey who added the flatbed Ford line and the rest is history !


A mural that depicts the lyrics of the song is painted on a brick facade    

and in 2016, a statue of Glen Frey was added to the corner.  



"Such a fine sight to see"...

2. La Posada Hotel (November 1)
La Posada embodies the visions of Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, the hotel's renowned architect and Allan Affeldt, the current owner.  But the real story begins with Fred Harvey who "civilized the west" by introducing linen, silverware, crystal, and impeccable service to railroad travel.  Harvey developed and ran all the hotels and restaurants of the Santa Fe Railroad. 

Colter worked for the Fred Harvey Co from 1905 until she retired in the 1950s.  She became famous for her buildings at the Grand Canyon, but considers La Posada her masterpiece.  She was given the freedom to design everything from the structures to the landscape, the furniture, the maids uniforms, and even the dinner china.

For 27 years, the hotel remained open for business.  It was closed in 1957 and all the furnishings were auctioned off in 1959.  In the early 1960s much of the building was gutted and transformed into offices for the railroad.  As recently as 1994, the building was nearly demolished when the railroad made plans to move out for good.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation found out about the La Posada's perils and added it to their endangered list where it came to to the attention of Allan Affeldt.  He purchased the hotel and after three long years of negotiating legal, environmental and financial obstacles he took on the enormous risk and complexity of the estimated $12,000,000 restoration.  

Not only is this a beautiful building, I find it's history interesting.  In 1997, Allan (who oversees the design, architecture, financing and planning)  and his wife Tina Mion (a renowned artist who paints in her studio upstairs and whose art is on display throughout the hotel), made La Posada their home.  



Oh if these walls could talk...such famous folks as Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart, John Wayne, Bob Hope, Howard Hughes, Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable and many more have walked through these doors and stayed at La Posada Hotel. 

3. Homolovi State Park (November 7)

Homolovi SP was established as an Arizona State Park in 1986 to prevent illegal collecting of artifacts and destruction being caused to structures, burial grounds and kivas that were left behind as far back as 620 AD.

If you want to meander in peace and quiet, enjoy endless  desert vistas and come away with a small sense of what living in this environment may have been like, Homolovi (Hopi for "place of the little hills) is a must stop. The day Joe and I visited, we saw one other person at the Visitor Center and not another person the rest of the day.  

On our way to the Homolovi II site, we stopped to hike the Tsu'vo Trail (Hopi for "Path of the Rattlesnakes") to look for petroglyphs and milling stones.  We wandered on a path between the fallen boulders and two small buttes and found neither.

We extended our walk and joined the Dine Trail to a gorgeous overlook.  The sun felt warm on our backs, the sky was so blue and the clouds were low on the horizon.  

If you squint, you will see a bench on the mound just right of center in the photo.

 Homolovi II is the bigger of the two archeological sites containing an estimated 1200 to 2000 rooms.  Today the pueblos are covered with dirt with only a small block of five rooms excavated.    

Kivas typically had roofs, fire pits, ventilation tunnels and sipapus...holes or indentions in the ground that represent emergence: how people originally entered the world.



The kiva on this site was quite large.



















Homolovi II and Homolovi I are at opposite ends of the park.
It's short drive with wide-open vistas and the day we were there, we had our very own personal guides.

Homolovi I is adjacent to the Little Colorado River (signs warn about the river bed being unstable and may have quicksand so we didn't go there). The site is much smaller with only a wall excavated.

There are pottery pieces...lots and lots of pottery pieces at both sites.  We found a few and added them to the others.  We also found some beautiful flint rock, but don't know if it was used in trade or if it was indigenous to the area.



We stopped at the Visitor Center on our way in to pay the entrance fee ($7 per car) and see a small collection of artifacts.  











Since we had a couple of extra days, we decided to make an appointment with Freightliner in Flagstaff (November 4-5)  for service and maintenance.  

So glad we did as they found a couple of things that needed done.  We spent the night in their parking lot and Belle was ready to go by 2:00 pm the following day.  Joe was pleased with the service writer and the parts and service department.  If you are in the area, we do recommend them.


Up next...Petrified Forest National Park

Until then,

















HAPPY TRAILS !

Bluff, UT

Cottonwood RV Park
Bluff, UT
October 25-30, 2019


Bluff has always been an overnight stop for us when we leave Tucson heading to Moab.  A few years ago, friends John and Pam ( ohtheplacestheygo.wordpress.com ) stopped in Bluff and instantly made a connection there.  They have returned several more times and rarely repeated any of their activities.    They have written many blog posts about all the area has to offer...including hikes to some pretty cool ruins and petroglyphs.  John and Pam’s blog, along with Sue and Dave’s blog   (belugasexcellentadventure.blogspot.com ), were just the spark we needed to motivate us to see for ourselves some gorgeous hikes...both walking hikes and auto hikes...to some pretty cool destinations.

When planning our trip to warmer weather this year, we made our first reservation at Cottonwood RV Park in Bluff  which is only 100 miles south of Moab.  As the time neared for departure, the weather forecast was NOT looking good for Bluff or Moab with lows predicted in the single digits...not just one night but several nights...and with highs only in the  30s to low 40s.  To say Joe and I are not cold weather people would be an understatement...we REALLY DO NOT like cold weather.  We cut our week long stay in Bluff 2 days short giving us just a snippet of what the area has to offer.  We barely scratched the surface and totally agree with John and Pam and Sue and Dave that Bluff is worth the time !

We loved our spot at Cottonwood RV Park.  It’s right on Main Street, easy to find and easy to pull in to.  



And if that is not enough, Nancy, the owner, is awesome.   She was born and raised in Bluff and has notebook upon notebook filled with her beautiful photography (a lifetime of places she calls home).  Her "guide books" are stacked in the corner of her desk complete with directions and pictures. These books along with her descriptions offer so much to see and do. 

We loved our view...

and the puppies loved their space !




























In our short stay we did manage to check off a few boxes on the to do list.
1. Hovenweep National Monument (Oct 26 with an afternoon high of 61 degrees)
Archeological findings indicate that the Pueblo population increased in the canyon and mesa country north of the San Juan River (the Four Corners area) in the early 1200s.  Larger villages were built around canyon heads that contained water sources.  Many dwellings stood right on the canyon rim

 while some were built on top of  isolated boulders down in the canyon.    






























The ruins are amazing.  Round, square, and horseshoe buildings tell stories of a once thriving communities. 

Together, Twin Towers had 16 rooms. One tower is oval and the other is D-shaped. Original wooden lintels (used where wood is readily available) are still in place. These two towers are considered to be among the most carefully constructed buildings in the entire Southwest.

This rectangular shaped building stands two stories high.  Many tiny openings were placed in the walls ...maybe for peepholes.  

Hovenweep Castle consists of two D-shaped structures. A residence was associated with the castle.  

 Dover joined us on our visit to Hovenweep.  She had staples from a cyst removal removed a couple of days early before we left Moab.  We took her along to keep an eye on her and  to make sure she didn't disturb the scab that was there. 

There are out-lier trails at Hovenweep we had hoped to do including the Holly Trail.  We didn't get to do them...next time !

 2. Double Stack Ruins Hike (Oct. 27 with an afternoon high of 67 degrees)
Double Stack ruins is one of many historical sites located in Butler Wash area just outside Bluff.  Butler Wash is famous for its concentration of ruins, petroglyphs and caves.  We had planned on visiting several sites (as most of the hikes are short and easy), but got a very late start waiting for the temps to rise from a chilly 25 degrees.  

Just waiting...

We are early morning people and sitting around waiting to go on a hike is a new experience for us.  When it finally warmed up to the mid-50s, it was mid-afternoon.  Needless to say, Double Stack was our only adventure in Butler Wash that day.  And there was no lunch or dinner with a view except from inside Belle. 



The hikes in Butler Wash are unmarked and we were told at the Bears Ears Visitor Center that when we see cars we should stop.  John said go 3.9 miles down Butler Wash Road...we liked his directions better !  There is parking with a a visible trail that dips down into a wash and climbs out the other side.  We made our way to some slickrock and thank goodness someone had made cairns to show  the way.


After the slickrock, the trail dips down into the mouth of the canyon.
From here, the trail is well used and easy to follow.
And I should mention, it is gorgeous.  Of course, I do love canyon hikes and am always thrilled to be amongst the tall canyon walls. 

The upper level ruin is not accessible because of its hight.

The upper level ruin gives this hike its name...    

The lower level ruin was on ground level and sort of accessible.  It was evident by all the footprints inside the fence, that the fence is not a deterrent.  


Pottery shards, materials left over from tool making, and grinding stones were nowhere to be seen.  I am hoping the BLM has them for safe keeping.

 It is so amazing that these and any dwellings built by the Anasazi over 800 years ago are still standing...what a story these walls could and do tell !

A hike had been planned for the next day as well, but what a surprise it was to wake up to a dusting of snow.  






After checking the weather, it was quickly and  unanimously decided that an auto-hike was in order.  No way are we ever hiking when the high is 39 degrees and the doesn't account for a chilly wind factor.

3. Sand Island Petroglyphs, Valley of the Gods, Moki Dugway, Muley Point, Natural Bridges NM (Oct. 28 with an afternoon high of 39 degrees)
All the destinations on the auto hike were places we wanted to visit.  I would have rather hiked to ruins, but it was good to check these off the list too.  

Sand Island Petroglyph Panel is over 100 yards of Anasazi rock art that spans all of the time that humans were known to inhabit the area.  From the early Basketmaker (500 AD- 1500 AD) period through the Pueblo III (1150-1350) the sheer amount of art along with the time range it represents indicates that this area must have held special significance.  In more recent times, Utes and Navajo also left a records of their time there.

It is very unfortunate that people do not respect these archeological treasures. A fence has been installed so we all have to look through the fence and at a distance that makes photos hard to get.

Valley of the Gods is a scenic sandstone valley that features some impressive rock formations.  Although a quarter of the size of Monument Valley, the 18 mile dirt road meanders around some unique pinnacles, buttes, and monoliths with names like Seven Sailors Butte, Setting Hen Butte, Battleship Rock and Lady in a Tub.  The shapes and colors grab your attention at every turn.  

Moki (a local term for the ancient Puebloan people who inhabited the Colorado Plateau hundreds of years ago) Dugway (a term used to describe a roadway carved from a hillside)  is a route that connects Utah Hwy 95 with US Hwy 163 by climbing up or plunging down (depending on where you begin) the Dugway at a 10% grade.   The route,  constructed in the 1950s to transport uranium ore, is about 3 miles of narrow hairpin switchbacks and it is all carved into the cliff wall of Cedar Mesa.   Wahoo...my kind of road !  The views of Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley in the distance were amazing as we steadily climbed 1200 feet. 

After enjoying the drive and the view up Moki Dugway, we reached the top of Cedar Mesa.  There is a dirt road on the left...turn here to get to Muley Point.  It is a five mile gravel/dirt road on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land...

that leads to an overlook.  Not just any overlook...this is totally amazing !  The sweeping views of twisting, long eroded canyons of the San Juan River and the desert beyond are breathtaking.  It was freezing cold and windy and the sun wasn't in the right spot for pictures (They were way to dark so now I guess we need to return!) but I stood there jaw dropped at the scene before me. 

The San Juan River is in the center of the picture and the background is Monument Valley...and yes, I was way too close to the edge!

Joe finally grabbed my hand and said it was time to go. 

The final destination on our auto-hike was Natural Bridges National Monument.  The first time we saw NGNM was in June of 2015 when we flew over it on a RedTail Aviation adventure for Dee's 55th birthday.  That was a day we will never forget.  I took the photo below of Sipapu Bridge that day.  It is the largest of the three bridges in the park and the second largest natural bridge in the U.S. 

Photo taken June 9, 2015 from a fly over while on a RedTail Aviation adventure. Sipapu is a Hopi term for "the opening between worlds". 

 Anyhow, I have wanted to return for a long time to experience the bridges up close.  I took this photo from the overlook as we drove through the park...not exactly up close so you know what that means !  The hike to Sipapu takes about 2 hours and is rather steep on the return, and I can hardly wait. 

Photo taken on Oct. 28, 2019 from the Viewpoint while driving thru the park. Squint your eyes to see the bridge in the center of the picture.

 
We did stop at the Visitor Center and then took the 9 mile one-way, one-lane loop road thru the park.  Natural Bridges, established in 1908, is Utah's first national Monument.  It certainly deserves more time than a drive thru.

Kachina refers to dancers or masked members of the Hopi tribe.  The bridge was named Kachina because petroglyphs depicting dancing figures are carved on the base of the bridge.  

The last bridge on the one-way road is Owachomo Bridge.  Owachomo means round mound in Hopi and refers to a rock formation on top of the east end of the bridge.   It is the smallest and thinnest of the three bridges and thought to be the oldest. 

To finish the loop, we headed to Blanding after NBNM for a stop at the grocery store.  If you are planning a visit to Bluff, plan ahead as there are no grocery stores in Bluff.  Thanks for that info Sue.  

Up next, a stop in Winslow, AZ.  Yep, I did stand on the corner in Winslow, Arizona and have the photo to prove it !

Until next time,

The Moki Dugway

    

HAPPY TRAILS !