Canyon de Chelly II - Yes, We are Nuts!

For various reasons, we were determined to make it back to St. George in one day, yet go a different route and see some new things. For me this day would be a "backtracker" (been on these roads before), but I had found some highlights that I wanted to share with others. So we awoke early and left Chinle. The plan was: 1) Go south on Highway 191 through Ganado to Interstate 40, then along the Interstate to the Petrified Forest NP, 2) Go through the PRNP on the park road, 3) Along Highway 181 to Holbrook, then back on Interstate 40 to Flagstaff, 4) North on Highway 89 with a short detour through Sunset Crater and Wupatki NMT's to 89A, 5) East on 89A over the Navajo Bridge, along the Vermillion Cliffs, through Fredonia and race for home! And be very tired...again! Well, we did it, as you can see below.

Ganado has one stop worth checking out. Hubbell Trading Post NMT is located there. If you want to see a trading post as close to how they were in their glory days, this is the place. And it is still operating!

Monte Entering the Post

Outside View

Just east of Holbrook on Interstate 40 is the Petrified Forest NP. Actually, you get a 3-for-1, as there are some nice ruins inside the park plus the Painted Desert.

The Painted Desert

If you are a rock collector, make sure you stop at Jim Gray's Petrified Wood Company in Holbrook. They have acres of samples from small pieces to entire trees. The show room is HUGE, with everything from key chains to dining room tables made of rock (if you are in the market for a $20,000 table).

As We were Leaving Jim Gray's, KR was
Attacked by a Giant Dinosaur - We Had to
Distract Him with an Apple to Get Her Loose

North of Flagstaff, there is a nice loop road that leaves and returns to Highway 89. On the loop you can take in Sunset Crater NMT (cinder cones and nice views - similar to Mt. Lassen NP or Craters of the Moon NMT) and Wupatki NMT. The latter has a couple of nice sets of ancestral puebloan ruins (I am so politically correct). Definitely worth the detour.

By the time we left Wupatki, we pushed it, hitting the accelerator a little harder. We crossed the Rainbow Bridge and passed over the Kaibab in the fading light. But did we ever time it right! As we descending the west side of the Kaibab to Fredonia, we were treated to an incredible sunset. We stopped and took as many pictures as we could as it changed in color and intensity, then slowly faded. Even though I thought the pictures turned out fantastic, I am not sure justice was done to what we saw in person that night.

By the way, we stopped in Fredonia and had a wonderful steak dinner. Try it: Cowboy Butte Grill & Steakhouse. It is rated a 4.5\5.0 on TripAdvisor. Be mindful of the time (we just made it), as it closes at 8 p.m. Arizona time (mind the daylight savings time issue).