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Continued from part 1….
The Trail Of The Ancient…Grand Circle road trip conintues. This is part two of a two-part posting, and this will complete the trip back to Grand junction and Denver, Colorado for our flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for our cruise to the Bahamas.This part of the road trip begin in Arizona, just on the border of New Mexico:
Window Rock is the administrative Capitol and administrative center of the Navajo Nation, getting its name from the hole in the 200 foot high sandstone hill (Window Rock) located there. In 1961, a Navajo Tribal Museum was established in a small building on the Window Rock Tribal Fairgrounds. In 1982, it moved to the back room of an arts and crafts store. In 1997, a $7 million dollar permanent home was finally built to store and preserve the Navajo historical artifacts.Tségháhoodzání, The Performated Rock, which is adjacent and north of the Navajo Service administration buildings, is important in the Water Way Ceremony, Tóhee. It was one of the 4 places where Navajo medicine men go with their woven water bottles to get water for the ceremony that is held for abundant rain. Of the many interesting and historical places in the immediate vicinity of Window Rock are the Haystacks, which Navajos call, Tséta’cheéch’ih, Wind Going Through the Rocks. These are rounded sandstone monoliths that resemble haystacks and 1 mile south of the Navajo capitol. Tséyaató, Spring Under the Rock is located in the rock formation just south of the Haystacks and beside the New Mexico State Highway 264 between Gallup, New Mexico and Window Rock, Arizona. This spring, which seeps from under the rock was the first stopping place out of Fort Defiance when some 4,000 Navajos in the area started their “Long Walk” to Fort Sumner in 1864.
Fort Defiance was established in 1851 to create a military presence in Diné bikéyah (Navajo territory). It was built on valuable grazing land that the federal government then prohibited the Navajo from using. As a result, the appropriately named fort experienced intense fighting, culminating in two attacks, one in 1856 and another in 1860. The next year, at the onset of the Civil War, the army abandoned Fort Defiance and it was occupied by Confederates. Continued Navajo raids in the area led Brigadier General James H. Carleton to send Kit Carson to impose order. Carleton’s “solution” was brutal: thousands of starving Navajo were forced to the Long Walk and interned near Fort Sumner, New Mexico; much of their livestock was destroyed. The Navajo Treaty of 1868 allowed those interned to return to a portion of their land, and Fort Defiance was reestablished as an Indian agency that year. Today, the site of Fort Defiance is populated by buildings dating from the 1930s to the present day used by various governmental agencies including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, and the Navajo Nation. The largest of these buildings was the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital until 2002.
Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Reflecting one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America, the cultural resources of Canyon de Chelly include distinctive architecture, artifacts, and rock imagery while exhibiting remarkable preservation integrity that provides outstanding opportunities for study and contemplation. Canyon de Chelly also sustains a living community of Navajo people, who are connected to a landscape of great historical and spiritual significance. Canyon de Chelly is unique among National Park service units, as it is composed entirely of Navajo Tribal Trust Land that remains home to the canyon community. NPS works in partnership with the Navajo Nation to manage park resources and sustain the living Navajo community. Not particularly scenic, as the land forms wide empty valleys interspersed by low, scrub-covered mesas. Three of these, named the First, Second and third, lie at the center of Hopi Indian territory but most of the northeast is Navajo land, including Chinle which is the largest town in the area and the gateway to Canyon de Chelly National Monument. This comparatively little-known canyon is not as immediately spectacular as others in Arizona or Utah but it does have sheer sandstone walls rising up to 1,000 feet, several scenic overlooks, many well-preserved Anasazi ruins and an insight into the present day life of the Navajo, who still inhabit and cultivate the valley floor.
Holbrook was founded in 1881 when the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad arrived and named the town after the chief engineer, Henry R. Holbrook. In the 1880s, the frontiersmen were the cowboys, cattle ranchers, and railroaders who made Holbrook the center of ranch country. Commodore Perry Owens, local sheriff, is credited with bringing law to the town in 1887 in a famous shootout with cattle rustlers at the Blevins House. That historic house still stands, as does the Bucket of Blood Saloon, where many a cowboy refreshed himself. The majestic 1898 courthouse, on the National Register of Historic Places, is the centerpiece of the town. In Holbrook you can visit the real west where tumbleweed still blows into town off the desert. Attend a rodeo, where sometimes the cowboys are mostly Indians, or sign on for a tour of a working ranch. If riding and roping isn’t your thing, plan on a tour of ancient Indian rock art sites, a hay-ride across the desert as evening arrives, and a real country cookout dinner. Holbrook is on the banks of the Little Colorado River in northeastern Arizona’s Navajo County high plateau country. A variety of attractions surround Holbrook. To the north is the rugged plateau country with striking canyons containing prehistoric cliff-dwellings, such as those found in Canyon de Chelly. Much of the plateau country is Navajo and Hopi Reservation land. These reservations offer unique attractions including ceremonial dances, tribal events, and Indian arts and crafts.
Winslow is in Navajo County. According to 2005Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 9,931. It was named for either Edward F. Winslow, president of St. Louis and San Francisco Rail Road, which owned one half of the old Atlantic and Pacific Railroad or Tom Winslow, a prospector who lived in the area. The last Harvey House or the La Posada Hotel opened in 1930. It was designed by Mary Colter. The hotel closed in 1957 and was used by the Santa Fe Railroad for offices. The city, which was a stop on the U.S. Route 66, was bypassed by I-40 in the 1970s. It achieved national fame in 1972 in the Eagles song “Take it Easy” which has the line “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.” The Santa Fe Railroad abandoned the La Posada in 1994 and announced plans to tear it down. It was saved and now caters to Route 66 fans. U.S. Route 66, also known as the Will Rogers Highway after the humorist, and colloquially known as the “Main Street of America” or the “Mother Road”) was a highway in the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926. However, road signs did not go up until the following year.The famous highway originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, before ending at Los Angeles, covering a total of 2,448 miles. It was recognized in popular culture by both a hit song written by Bobby Troup, originally recorded by the Nat King Cole Trio in 1946, and later performed by such artists as Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones and Depeche Mode and the Route 66 television show in the 1960s.
Mogollon Rim Stretching from just southwest of Flagstaff to the White Mountains of eastern Arizona, the Mogollon Rim marks the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau in Arizona. The long escarpment, thousands of feet high in some areas, extends for nearly 200 miles across central Arizona. Average elevation of this undulating rim and plateau country is about 7000 feet.The Mogollon Rim is known for its stands of ponderosa pine, which comprise the largest ponderosa pine forest in the United States. Much of the gentle plateau country just north of the rim has been heavily logged. Timber production was a major part of the region’s economy earlier this century, helping to establish a few towns in and near the vast pine forests of the area. Today, the United States Forest Service manages much of the region as part of four national forests: the Kaibab, Coconino, Sitgreaves, and Apache National Forests. One of the major cultural divisions of the prehistoric Southwest is the Mogollon tradition. These people, closely related to the Anasazi, are so named because archaeological remains of this culture were first discovered along the Mogollon Rim. However, the rim country defined the northernmost reaches of this culture, which stretched across the Arizona-New Mexico border, into northern Mexico, south of Anasazi territory. The Mogollon people farmed floodplains and hunted wild game, living in small villages of pueblo dwellings and subterranean kivas. Like other areas of the Colorado Plateau, by 1300 A.D. the Mogollon Rim was abandoned by its prehistoric occupants, whose descendants were most likely incorporated into the modern Pueblo people.
Sedona Often called “Red Rock Country” Sedona is a four seasons playground for everyone – whether you’re into history and archaeology; arts and culture; shopping; outdoor sports; or the spiritual and metaphysical, imagine doing all this in a backdrop of some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. This picturesque city is surrounded by red-rock monoliths named Coffeepot, Cathedral and Thunder Mountain. At the north end of the city is the stunning Oak Creek Canyon, a breathtaking chasm that is wildly wonderful. Natural endowments aside, you’ll also find world-class hotels, resorts, bed and breakfasts and a very good variety of dining to keep you satisfied. Escape the chaos of life, kick back and relax in Sedona.
Flagstaff lies near the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, along the western side of the largest contiguous Ponderosa Pine forest in the continental United States. Flagstaff is located adjacent to Mount Elden, just south of the San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountain range in the state of Arizona. Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet (3,850 m), is located about 10 miles north of Flagstaff in Kachina Peaks Wilderness. Flagstaff’s early economy was based on the lumber, railroad, and ranching industries. Today, the city remains an important distribution hub for companies such as Nestlé Purina Pet Care and Walgreens, and is home to Lowell Observatory, The U.S. Naval Observatory, the United States Geological Survey Flagstaff Station and Northern Arizona University. Flagstaff has a strong tourism sector, due to its proximity to Grand Canyon National Park, Oak Creek Canyon, the Arizona Snow bowl, Meteor Crater and historic Route 66. The city is also home to medical device manufacturing, including such companies as W. L. Gore and Associates, and Machine Solutions.
Wupatki National Monument Thousands of years ago, ancient native people settled in an area just north of Flagstaff Arizona in a place we know today as Sunset Crater Volcano. These people were given the name “Sinagua Indians”. They grew corn in the area under some extreme conditions of both drought and torrential rains and grazed their animals in open meadows. In about 1100 AD the Sunset Volcano erupted spreading heavy layers of volcanic ash destroying agricultural lands. Groups of the ancient Sinaguans migrated relatively short distances and created new settlements in both the Walnut Canyon area and to the area we know today as the Wupatki National Monument which is located a very short distance north of Flagstaff, Arizona.
The Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is located in the northern central part of Arizona, less than 15 miles north of Flagstaff, protecting over 3,000 acres of lava fields, cinder deposits and archaeological ruins. As the youngest of the Colorado Plateau volcanoes, Sunset Crater gives everyone from geologists to amateur sleuth’s insight into what the earth was like in the last millennium. The lava flows and cinder rocks are frozen in time, appearing red and clear as if they had cooled down just last week instead of hundreds of years ago. Amidst the hardened lava wildflowers and trees spout up, providing a gentle, colorful contrast to the powerful strength of the volcano. Even though the early settlers moved on to nearby Wupatki and Walnut Canyon following the eruption, fragments of the pit houses and early villages remain. Visitors can examine the volcanic landscape, stand in the very spots where hot, molten lava once flowed, and even follow in the footsteps of the astronauts, who trained for the first lunar landings at Sunset Crater National Monument in the early 1960′s.
The Cameron Trading Post is enjoyed by visitors from all around the world as a Grand Canyon gateway. A visit to Cameron is more than just a routine stop on your tour. It is a cultural experience; an opportunity to learn about Navajo culture first-hand through their art. Still a vital part of the local economy, the Cameron Trading Post sells hand-crafted jewelry of silver and turquoise, colorful rugs painstakingly crafted on looms handed down through generations, as well as pottery, baskets and paintings from many tribes throughout the Southwest. In the gallery, you’ll find one of Northern Arizona’s most exquisite collections of Native made crafts. In addition to its retail store, the Cameron Trading Post also has a hotel, RV Park, convenience store, gas station, and a restaurant that has earned a cult-like following among people from all over the area, who gladly drive hundreds of miles to enjoy the house specialty, the Navajo Taco. Cameron is also ideally situated as a “base camp” from which to explore all the scenic treasures that Northern Arizona and Southern Utah have to offer. It is one hour from Grand Canyon’s South Rim, one hour from Flagstaff, Arizona, 90 minutes from Lake Powell, 2 hours from Sedona, and 3 hours from Monument Valley, the Petrified Forest, and Zion National Park.
Tuba City in Coconino County, According to the 2000 census population was 8,225 at the 2000 census. It is the Dine’ Nation’s largest community, slightly larger than Ship-rock, New Mexico. The Hopi town of Moenkopi lies directly to its southeast. The name of the town honors Tuuvi, a Hopi headman from Oraibi. The Navajo name for Tuba City, Tó Naneesdizí translates as “tangled waters” which probably refers to the many springs below the surface of the ground which are the source of several reservoirs. Tuba City is located within the Painted Desert on the western side of the Navajo Nation. The town is situated on U.S. Route 160, near the junction with Arizona State Route 264. Tuba City is located about 50 miles from the eastern entrance to Grand Canyon National Park. Most of Tuba City’s residents are Navajo, with a small Hopi minority.
Monument Valley provides perhaps the most enduring and definitive images of the American West. The isolated red mesas and buttes surrounded by empty, sandy desert have been filmed and photographed countless times over the years for movies, adverts and holiday brochures. Because of this, the area may seem quite familiar, even on a first visit, but it is soon evident that the natural colors really are as bright and deep as those in all the pictures. The valley is not a valley in the conventional sense, but rather a wide flat, sometimes desolate landscape, interrupted by the crumbling formations rising hundreds of feet into the air, the last remnants of the sandstone layers that once covered the entire region.
Kayenta is located immediately south of Monument Valley and contains a number of hotels and motels which service visitors to Monument Valley. Like other places within the Navajo Nation, it is illegal to serve alcohol. Arizona does not observe Daylight Time, however the Navajo reservation does. Kayenta Township is the only municipal-style government within the Navajo Nation. It is regarded as a political sub-division of the Navajo Nation. It is managed by a five-member elected town board, which hires the township manager. Kayenta is the name for the Chapter, as well as the township. Kayenta Chapter (a political division within the Navajo Nation that is analogous to a county within a state) encompasses land in both Utah and Arizona. Thus, the Navajo Nation’s census figures for Kayenta Chapter are significantly different from those of Kayenta proper.
Hovenweep National Monument is in a remote and somewhat forgotten part of the Southwest, and contains six separate prehistoric ruined villages dating from the Pueblo period of the mid thirteenth century. The monument spans the UT/CO border though the largest and best preserved site is in Utah – the land hereabouts is similar to Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park but on a smaller scale, with flat, bushy mesas split by steep-sided, quite narrow ravines, and the settlements typically consist of several small ruins on or just below the rim around the head of a canyon. Although in some cases little remains beyond a pile of stones or low wall remnants, the interest and appeal is enhanced by the general remoteness and peaceful nature of the surroundings. The name Hovenweep, a Paiute word meaning deserted valley, was bestowed on this region by explorer and photographer William Jackson in 1874, and the site became a national monument in 1923. Hovenweep National Monument is reached from the south by several paved roads, starting from either US 191, Aneth on UT 262 or US 160 near Cortez in Colorado – this latter, Montezuma County Road G is the longest, and a bendy route through cultivated land along McElmo Creek and past some entrances to Colorado’s new Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. The drive from US 191 is the most used approach; it forks several times though all turnings are well signposted, and crosses rather desolate country, mostly flat, sandy and featureless apart from three distant mountain ranges to the northwest, east and south (Manti La Sal in Utah, Sleeping Ute in Colorado and Carrizo in Arizona). All these routes cross part of the Navajo Indian reservation.
Rico, Colorado, If you’re looking for a laid back vacation in a restful mountain haven with unlimited outdoor recreational opportunities, you’ve found the ideal spot – Rico, Colorado. We’ve got a summertime population of about 500 friendly folks, and a wintertime population of a hardy 200 or so. For those who love quiet mountains more than busy resorts, Rico will certainly satisfy!Rico has two restaurants open at present. Each has its own distinctive personality and type of food. The Argentine Bar & Grille in the Rico Hotel & Mountain Lodge dishes out five-star cuisine and full bar menu at affordable prices in a comfy, small-town atmosphere. The Rico Theater & Cafe is now open again too on main street. When you stay in Rico, you’ll probably stay at the historic Rico Hotel & Mountain Lodge – a beautifully remodeled miner’s dormitory, now B&B. The Circle K Ranch, just south of town, offers a wide range of amenities, from private cabins and motel rooms to RV and tent sites. For the more rugged travelers, the surrounding San Juan National Forest offers ample camping opportunities. Many historic buildings beckon to the history buff, some remaining from the mining boom of the 1880′s. Railroad enthusiasts will appreciate the Rio Grande Southern water tank that still stands along the well-preserved railroad grade at the original Rico depot site alongside the Dolores River. An historic walking tour booklet and map are available for visitors.
Orlando is a major city in the central region of the of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County and the center of the Greater Orland metropolitan region. The Orlando metropolitan area has a population of 2,082,628 and it is the 27th largest metropolitan area in the United States. The city-proper population is 235,860 making Orlando the 80th largest city in the United States. It is Florida’s fifth largest city by population. Orlando was incorporated on July 31, 1875, and became a city in 1885. Originally the center of a major citrus growing region, Orlando is a city now heavily urbanized with various industries. The area is a major tourist destination and is the home of Universal Orlando Resort, and SeaWorld Orlando. Lake Buena Vista, Florida, located 21 miles southwest of downtown Orlando, is the home of Walt Disney World. These attractions form the backbone of Orlando’s tourism industry, making the city the third most visited American city in 2007. Like other major cities in the Sun Belt, Orlando grew rapidly during the 1980s and well into the 2000s. Since the establishment of destination tourism in the 1970s, the local economy has diversified and today the region is the center of operations for companies servicing Central Florida. Orlando is also home to the University of Central Florida, the largest university campus by student enrollment in the state of Florida and among the largest in the United States. Perhaps the most critical event for Orlando’s economy occurred in 1965 when Walt Disney announced plans to build Walt Disney World. Although Disney had considered the regions of Miami and Tampa for his park, one of the major reasons behind his decision not to locate there was due to hurricanes— Orlando’s inland location, although not free from hurricane damage, exposed it to less threat than coastal regions. The vacation resort opened in October 1971, ushering in an explosive population and economic growth for the Orlando metropolitan area, which now encompasses Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Lake counties.  As a result, tourism became the centerpiece of the area’s economy. Fort Lauderdale is a popular tourist destination, with 10.35 million visitors in 2006. Fort Lauderdale is sometimes known as the “Venice of America” because of its expansive and intricate canal system. The city is a major yachting center, with 42,000 resident yachts and 100 marinas and boatyards in 2006. The city sits 23 miles north of Miami, Florida. Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding area host over 4,000 restaurants and 120 nightclubs in 2006.Miami Beach, In both daytime and at nightfall, the South Beach section of Miami Beach is a major entertainment destination with hundreds of nightclubs, restaurants, boutiques and hotels. The area is popular with both American and international tourists, mainly from Canada, Latin America, Europe, Israel, the Caribbean and within the United States, with some having permanent or second homes. The large number of European tourists also explains their influence on South Beach’s lax and overall tolerance of the female monokini, aka topless sunbathing, despite it being a public beach.The reflection of South Beach’s residents is evident in the various European languages, as well as Semitic languages and many other languages spoken. In 2000, 55% of residents of the city of Miami Beach spoke Spanish as a first language, while English was the first language for 33% of the population. Portuguese (mainly Brazilian Portuguese) was spoken by 3% of residents, while French (including Canadian French) was spoken by 2%, German by 1.12%, Italian 0.99%, and Russian by 0.85% of the population. Owing to the area’s large Jewish and Israeli community, Yiddish was spoken by 0.81% of resident, and Hebrew by 0.74%. Little Havana (Spanish: La Pequeña Habana) is a neighborhood within the City of Miami. It has many Cuban immigrant residents. Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city in Cuba. The rough boundaries are the Miami River (north), SW 11thStreet (south), SW 22nd Avenue (west) and I-95 (east). Little Havana is noted as a center of social, cultural, and political activity in Miami. Its festivals, including Carnival Miami, Cultural Fridays, the Three Kings Parade and others, are televised to millions of people every year on different continents. It is also known for its landmarks, including Calle Ocho (S.W. 8th Street), and its Walkway of the Stars (for famous artists and Latin personalities, including Celia Cruz, Willy Chirino, and Gloria Estefan).
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The city has a population of 260,000 (2008 census), nearly 80 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas (330,000). Lynden Pindling International Airport, the major airport for The Bahamas, is located about 9.9 mi west of Nassau city centre, and has daily flights to major cities in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and the Caribbean. The city is located on the island of New Providence, which functions much like a federal district. While there is no local government, it is governed directly as an administrative division of the national government. Nassau is considered a historical stronghold of pirates. Nassau’s modern growth began just over 200 years ago with the influx of thousands of American Loyalists and enslaved Africans to the Bahamas following the American War of Independence. Many of them settled in Nassau (the then and still commerce capital of The Bahamas) and eventually came to outnumber the original inhabitants. As the population of Nassau grew, so did the built-up areas. Today the city dominates the entire island and its satellite, Paradise Island. However, until the post-Second World War era, the outer suburbs scarcely existed. Most of New Providence was uncultivated bush until the loyalists came in the 1780s and established several plantations such as Clifton and Tusculum. When the British abolished the international slave Trade in 1807, thousands of liberated Africans freed from slave ships by the Royal Navy were settled on NewProvidence atAdelaide, Gambier, Carmichael and Sandiland and other islands. The largest concentration of blacks lived in the “Over-the-Hill” suburbs of Grants Town and Bain Town behind the city of Nassau, while most of the whites lived on the island’s northern coastal ridges
“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”
– John Steinbeck.
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Trail Of The Ancient..The Grand Circle..Part 1

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