Driving Across the United States: Day Two Grand Canyon to New Mexico
Day two of our driving across the United States trip was all about exploring. In terms of heading across country we made little progress. However, we got to see some great sites, most notably the Grand Canyon.
We started the day in Williams, Arizona. Williams is a small tourist town that is a prime gateway to the Grand Canyon. In the center of town is a train station that takes you to the Grand Canyon, 54 miles to the north. This was part of the old Route 66 and that plays a big role in the town’s theme.
We knew we were going to have a late lunch, so we decided to have big breakfast. Our research landed us at the Pine Country Restaurant in the center of town. This place was huge and had its own gift shop and a coffee bar. It was also extremely popular.
The drive to the Grand Canyon takes about an hour from Williams. It is a scenic drive through an isolated part of Arizona along Route 64. The Grand Canyon is over 50 miles from the interstate (Williams is the closest interstate point), so any detour to see the Grand Canyon is going to cost you about 4 hours.
Nevertheless, a detour to the Grand Canyon is well worth it. We have done several of these trips and we have created a guide to seeing the Grand Canyon in a few hours.
In this case we spent about three hours at the Grand Canyon National Park. This was enough to do a nice hike along the Rim Trail from the Visitor’s Center to Grand Canyon Village. We took the shuttle back to our car at the end of the hike.
We were pretty hungry after the hike, but we decided to hold out until we reached Cameron Trading Post. The Cameron Trading Post is about an hour east of Grand Canyon Village.
If you are driving from the east across the United States, you might choose to turnoff in Flagstaff Arizona to reach the Grand Canyon. If you take the 89 from Flagstaff, the Cameron Trading Post is located right where you turnoff the 89 onto the 64 to head to the Grand Canyon.
The Cameron Trading Post is a large complex in the middle of nowhere. There is a motel, RV park and a huge gift shop. The trading post was established in 1916 and it features all kinds of Navajo artwork.
The prime calling card for us was the restaurant at the Cameron Trading Post. This massive restaurant has a great view overlooking the Little Colorado River Gorge. They also serve Navajo tacos.
A Navajo taco is Navajo fry bread topped with ground beef, beans, cheese, lettuce and green chilis. It is not gourmet food, but we love to try local dishes like this.
After lunch the plan was to hit the Four Corners area where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah meet. What I didn’t realize until I checked on it at lunch was that Four Corners Monument is actually a paid tourist attraction operated by the Navajo Nation. That would have been fine, but it closed at 5:50 (note Navajo Nation time recognizes daylight savings time, unlike the state of Arizona).
Trying to make it by 4:45 would have been really tight so we decided instead to hit Monument Valley in Utah. Going to Monument Valley meant getting off the 160 and taking the 163 north to Utah. This was actually a great decision.
Monument Valley is iconic and has been featured in many movies. To drive through the actual valley, you need to plan ahead and take some time. Monument Valley Tribal Park is operated by the Navajo tribe and entrance is $20 per vehicle. Much of the park is seen on dirt roads.
In our case we were just driving through. We stopped outside the entrance to take some pictures. There are several spots along the 163 that you can pull over and get some great views. In other words we saw the sites but did not drive through the actual park.
From Monument Valley we met back up with the 160 in the southwest corner of Colorado. We drove by Four Corners Monument, but we were an hour after closing and the gate was locked.
From Four Corners Monument it was a short drive back into Arizona where we met up with the start of U.S. Route 64. US 64 runs 2,326 miles from the Atlantic Ocean in Nags Head NC to Teec Nos Pos Trading Post. The Trading Post was closed but we stopped to take a picture. Several months earlier we had been in Nags Head at the start of the 64 so we thought it was kind of cool to see the other end.
By this time, it was getting late and we had to decide on a place to stay. The nearest city of any size was Farmington, New Mexico. Farmington is not very big, but it is actually one of the larger cities in New Mexico.
Once again, we played Hotwire roulette and ended up with the La Quinta Inn at $54. Note there is a way to pretty much know what hotel you will get on Hotwire or Priceline. See our guide to Hotwire/Priceline.
For dinner we picked the Three Rivers Brewery and Eatery. This place actually takes up almost a whole block in downtown Farmington. In addition to the main eatery there is a pizza place and a bar area. I love New Mexican food, so I got the Green Chile Turkey Stew.
Tomorrow we head back to the I-40 in Albuquerque. This is a 3-hour drive. Considering the drive from Williams Arizona, where we started the day, to Albuquerque is only 5 hours we did not make much progress today. However, the sites we got to see made this detour well worth it.
For our first day adventures in California and the London Bridge in Lake Havasu, AZ go here.
For tomorrows long journey across New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma go here.
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