Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
105
museum is open Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm; Saturday 9am to 4pm. Admission
is $9 for adults, $7 for seniors, and $6 for children ages 7 to 12.
On the western outskirts of Tuba City, on U.S. 160, you'll find
Van's Trading Co.
(
&
928/283-5343;
vanstradingcompany.com), in the corner of a large grocery store.
Van's has a dead-pawn auction on the 15th of each month at 3pm (any pawned item not
reclaimed by the owner by a specified date is considered “dead pawn”). The auction
provides opportunities to buy older pieces of Navajo silver-and-turquoise jewelry.
West of Tuba City and just off U.S. 160, you can see
dinosaur footprints
preserved
in the stone surface of the desert. There are usually a few people waiting at the site to
guide visitors to the best footprints (these guides will expect a tip of $1-$2). The scenery
out your car window is some of the strangest in the region—you'll see lots of red-rock
sandstone formations that resemble petrified sand dunes.
The
Cameron Trading Post
(
&
800/338-7385
or 928/679-2231; www.cameron
tradingpost.com), 16 miles south of the junction of U.S. 160 and U.S. 89, is well worth
a visit. The main trading post is filled with souvenirs but has large selections of rugs and
jewelry as well. In the adjacent stone-walled gallery are museum-quality Native American
artifacts (with prices to match). The trading post includes a motel (p. 546), convenience
store, and gas station.
Where to Stay
Quality Inn Navajo Nation
Located in the bustling Navajo community of Tuba
City (where you'll find gas stations, fast-food restaurants, and grocery stores), this mod-
ern hotel is adjacent to the historic Tuba City Trading Post and is actually a more attrac-
tive place to stay in this region than the Hopi Cultural Center. The hotel offers
comfortable rooms of average size, but the green lawns, shade trees, and old trading post
(complete with hogan) are what really set this place apart. This hotel is also adjacent to
the Explore Navajo Interactive Museum (see above).
Main St. and Moenave Ave. (P.O. Box 247), Tuba City, AZ 86045.
&
800/644-8383
or 928/283-4545. Fax
928/283-4144. www.qualityinntubacity.com. 80 units. Apr-Oct $108-$140 double; Nov-Mar $88-$118
double. Rates include full breakfast. Children 17 and under stay free in parent's room. AE, DC, DISC, MC,
V. Pets accepted ($10 per day).
Amenities:
Restaurant.
In room:
A/C, TV, hair dryer, Wi-Fi.
6
8
THE PETRIFIED FOREST
25 miles E of Holbrook; 90 miles E of Flagstaff; 118 miles S of Canyon de Chelly; 180 miles N of Phoenix
Petrified wood has long fascinated people, and although it can be found in almost every
state, the “forest” of downed logs in northeastern Arizona is by far the most extensive.
But don't head out this way expecting to see standing trees of stone with leaves and
branches intact. Although there is enough petrified timber scattered across this landscape
to fill a forest, it is, in fact, in the form of broken logs and not standing trees. Many a
visitor has shown up expecting to find some sort of national forest of stone trees. The
reality is much less impressive than the petrified forest of the imagination.
However, this area is still unique. When, in the 1850s, this vast treasure-trove of petri-
fied wood was discovered, scattered like kindling across the landscape, enterprising peo-
ple began exporting it wholesale to the East. Within 50 years, so much had been removed
that in 1906 several areas were set aside as the Petrified Forest National Monument,
which, in 1962, became a national park. A 27-mile scenic drive winds through the
