Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/53603
Viewpoint for an ogle before driving into Arizona and the heart of Navajo Tribal Park. The latter's endless photo ops include rock colours that shift continuously, depending on cloud shadows and time of day. A $5 entrance fee is required to access the park's 28-km loop drive. Allow four hours for two two-hour circuits: spectacular both at sunset and sunrise and featuring all major "exhibits" – the rock monoliths that give the valley its name. Note: Arizona is not on daylight savings time, but the Navajo Reservation is. Detailed info on Monument Valley at: navajotribalparks.org Good eats: Goulding's Stagecoach Dining Room. Good sleeps: Goulding's Lodge (site of the first trading post in the valley; now also a museum); is the place to stay, if only for tradition's sake (gouldings.com), while inside the park is the new, luxurious View Hotel and Restaurant (435-727-555). LEG THREE:Monument Valley to Chinle and Canyon de Chelly National Monument(Approx. 150 km) The astounding scenery of Monument Valley continues for another 33 km of Hwy. 163 south. Kayenta, at the intersection of Hwys. Idaho Wyoming UTAH COLORADO Oklahoma ARIZONA NEW MEXICO Texas MEXIC O 4 CORNERS Anasazi Loop 163 and 160, has a few chain hotels and decent eateries. Head north on Hwy. 160 for about 15 km to the junction with Hwy. 59 at Church Rock, then swing right (southeast) for a meandering 75-km drive to Many Farms in the Chinle Valley. Here, Hwy. 191 leads 24 km south to Chinle and Canyon de Chelly (pro- nounced "Shay") National Monument park. Full of Anasazi ruins, it is sacred to the Navajo, who still live and farm in the canyon. Arrive early, as many of the canyon's ruins – perhaps the loveliest of all Anasazi sites – are best seen in afternoon light. (The local visitor centre has maps, info and a list of Navajo-guided jeep tours.) Drive the can- yon's southern rim along Route 7, stopping at viewpoints overlooking Anasazi cliff (map) DTGraphix, Chuck Place/All Canada Photos dwellings. The most famous is White House Ruins, a village with a small white house tucked under the rock overhang and the only ruin that can be explored without a guide. The trail is steep and rocky but well worth the exertion. Allow two hours and carry water. Farther along the rim is Spider Rock Viewpoint – worth driving to, particu- larly at sunset when the spectacular needle- like rocks fl ame crimson. Good eats: The 1902 trading post at Thun- derbird Lodge (near the monument's entrance) is now a cafeteria, its walls hung with Navajo rugs (tbirdlodge.com). Good sleeps: The Thunderbird Lodge has a free campground and RV park near the visitor centre in the park; there is also a Holiday Inn and Best Western nearby (bestwestern.com). LEG FOUR: National Monument to Cortez(Approx. 250 km) Route 64 runs northeast for 39 km along the north rim of Canyon de Chelly to Route 12. Allow time for stopping at viewpoints over- looking splendid ruins, including Antelope House and Mummy Cave. Then, drive north on Route 12 for about 12 km before turning east on Route 13 into New Mexico – past Shiprock, a much-photographed volcanic plug soaring some 600 metres that is a Navajo holy site. The small town of Shiprock lies north on Hwy. 160/491. Just south of town, take a side-trip loop via Hwy. 64 to Four Corners Monument at the intersection of the four states (about 50 km), then continue north to Cortez via Hwy. 160. From Cortez, it's a short drive east on Hwy. 160 to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Mesa Verde, where the region's best known Anasazi ruins sprawl across a high mesa. Allow a full day for exploring the 600 cliff dwellings, some of staggering size: Cliff Palace alone has 150 rooms. Then there's the mystery: why was the mesa abandoned? Were the Anasazi forced off by disease, or climate change? Do their ancestors now live on New Mexico's mesas? (Learn more at: visitmesaverde.com.) AMA MEMBERS SAVE MORE Before you go: Start in Las Vegas and spend seven days exploring Canyon Country — the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches, Dead Horse Point, Bryce Canyon and Zion. Tours depart June 6 and October 17, 2012. From US$1,560 per person. 1-866-667-4777, AMATravel.ca While you're there: Save on sleeps in the Four Corners region: 20% off at the Best Western Turquoise Inn & Suites in Cortez, CO and Best Western Canyon de Chelly in Chinle, AZ (plus earn CAA Dollars by joining the CAA Preferred Best Western Rewards Program); and 5% or more at the Hampton Inn in Kayenta, AZ. Also, save 10% at the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, AZ. AMARewards.ca/SearchForDiscounts WESTWORLD >> FEBRUARY 2012 19 California Nevada Kansas Nebraska