Roving Reports by Doug P: 2021-3 Traveling I-40/Route 66 through Northern Arizona

2021-3

I-40, Route 66 Northern Arizona

The Journey Continues

Campground: Om Place Rv Park, Springerville AZ. $20 full-hookups. In town. Shell Gas station next door, best price for fuel in town.

Campground: Kaibab National Forest, Flagstaff AZ. Free. Hwy 180 less than a mile out of town. Very busy dispersed campsites, but lots of space between rigs. Forest is thinned out as they have been logging to clear burned and dead trees.

Campground: Kaibab National Forest, Williams AZ, off of 4^th street south. Free. Once you arrive in forest, many forest roads for dispersed camping. Close to town, easy access.

Kaibab National Forest, Williams AZ,

Campground: Ashfork AZ, close to Seligman AZ (route 66). Free. A small dispersed BLM site. Good for a couple Rv’s.

Ashfork AZ, close to Seligman AZ (route 66)

Campground: Crozier Ranch, route 66. Free. Open gate/close gate. Sign in. I understand many large ranch lands in this area permit boondocking on their land. This one listed in I-Overlander app is fantastic. Nice camp areas, with cedar trees.

The Journey Continues

Leaving Truth or Consequences NM, I had planned on stopping in Albuquerque, but the weather was a mix of high winds and possible snow. Since my destination is to travel to the Sierra Mts in eastern California, I decided this side trip could end for now.

I chose hwy 60 heading west back into northern Arizona. A Beautiful route that would be perfect for any size Rv. Although it’s only a two lane road, it is well maintained and had little traffic the day I drove it. The Very Large Array (large dish antenna for listening for signs of intelligent life out there) as well as Pie Town are along this rural route.

great scenery along hwy 60, through NM

The Very Large Array can only be observed from a distance as tours are currently not available. Pie city, for me anyway was also a bust, as the only shop open for pies was very small, no face coverings on visitors or staff. The tables were very close together, no social distancing here. Needless to say, I didn’t get any pie. What I did get was an awesome drive along hwy 60 into Arizona. I even saw a few patches of snow on the higher elevations and some snowflakes for a few miles.

hwy 60

Pie Town, most of the buildings looked like this

Pies and lunch served. Very small interior, no social distancing...
this is the other pie shop, it was closed on Sunday when I went through

Just over the NM/AZ boarder I arrived in the small town of Springerville. Home to Casa Maipais Archaeological site. Like many attractions, this one only has limited access requiring advance reservations due to Covid I’m sure. Definitely a site I would come back and explore.

Petrified Forest National Park

I’d toured this park a number of years back, but took more time to explore it’s many attractions. Amazing what a person misses when touring a place on a time constraint or just missed opportunities. It was almost like I was experiencing the park for the first time.

Starting at the southern end, just outside the park are two tourist shops/museums where you’re able to purchase Petrified wood and there’s even campsites available for free. No hookups available. Some of the things I enjoyed this time around;

Imagine, a Bird with teeth, ekk.

visitor center. A small but very informative display describing the Triassic Period, 225 million years ago that created the petrified forest. Once a tropical landscape with lush vegetation and early dinosaurs. Excellent display of those early dinosaur skeletons as well.
I missed a short hike from this area to the agate House. A structure made entirely of petrified wood. (def. Worth a return visit)
Agate Bridge. A large petrified log over a stream. As the water eroded the riverbed, the log remained over the stream creating a natural bridge. It has been re-enforced with concrete to preserve it for now.
Crystal Forest. A nice loop trail through a forest of petrified logs. And to think, these are only the ones that have been exposed over time. Thousands more are still buried beneath the silt and riverbed.
Newspaper Rock. There are a number of locations throughout the west similarly named, as they rocks contain a condensed wall of petroglyphs. The ones here are far below an observation deck. But a good zoom camera or the two telescopes provide excellent views of the rock art.
Puerco Pueblo. A 100 room Pueblo along with some astronomical calendar petroglyphs. Located in this dry forbidding desert scenery. Hard to imagine hundreds of Native Indians inhabiting this area some 13,000 years ago to 1380 AD when they departed the area. This was well worth stopping to explore and contemplate their life back then.
The marker designating the original route 66. Making the Petrified Forest the only National park that Route 66 traveled through.
And one of my favorite sites are the CCC buildings, The Painted Desert Inn in particular. It’s no longer used as an Inn, but rather for museum exhibits. Currently closed. But of course I took as many pictures of this stunning adobe building as I could. Would love to see this one used as an Inn again.

Agate Bridge

Puerco Pueblo, rock art

100 room pueblo

Route 66 marker, the only National Park to have rte 66 go through it.

So my recommendation for any Rv travelers, it you’ve already visited a national park, I strongly recommend revisiting it and exploring it in greater depth. As a full-time RV-er, we have the time to do that. And no doubt you’ll see so much more than you thought possible.

Desert Inn, built by the CCC's.

Next stop, Flagstaff AZ. What a great town. Stopped to get propane for Zippy and the young guy filling the tank said it is a very expensive area to live. What I saw most a modern town with many new buildings, homes stretching out into the surrounding forests. An elevation of 7,000 ft ensures cooler summers and snow skiing in the surrounding mountain range. I’d really like to explore this area more, but with concerns still regarding Covid, that will have to wait for another time.

Fred Flintstones Bedrock City

Instead of going to The Grand Canyon, I’m once again spending the summer travels looking for less crowded venues. The Flintstones Bedrock city/Rv park has been on my bucket list for quite some time. Originally built as an attraction and campground. I believe it had closed for a time but has new owners that are remaking it into a Raptor exhibit. The Rv park is open, costing between $45-$75 depending on the season and size of your rig. For $5 I was able to tour the original Flintstone Bedrock displays. For me it was a fun photo opportunity. Glad much of the original remains for now.

Williams AZ.

Another stop along the way, great forest campsite. Checked out the downtown area. Most visitors wear face coverings, locals seem to ignore any mask requirements. Oh well, more money stays in my pocket, no need to do any tourist shopping/dining.

Seligman AZ, Route 66

Same story as Williams. Traveled through Seligman early in the morning. Nice to be able to walk around town, with no crowds, take some pictures and reflect on times past.

You might have noticed that there are quite a few campsites listed. Most are free. Many are short distances from each other. After doing some touring, a few chores, in-town shopping, fuel runs, I’m able to select from a ton of free campsites. Rather than going back to the previous spot, I choose the closest one available.

Next week I’ll spend the entire week in Laughlin NV at the Riverside Casino Rv park. A go-to for me anytime I’m in the area.

Bonus Info: Meteor City Road.

Exit off of I-40. All because of this attraction on the old Route 66, Meteor City was here and an on/off ramp was built. Nothing else is off of this exit ramp.