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Travel the Trails

Trip 10: US-160 North: Tuba City to Kayenta

78 miles (126 km) from Tuba City to Kayenta

Disclaimer: NANACT trip guides are based on information from Native Roads: The Complete Motoring Guide to the Navajo & Hopi Nations, 2nd Edition by Fran Kosik (Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2005). Some information may have changed since the publication of the book. While NANACT will attempt to maintain current information, consider verifying the current operation/existence of businesses, accommodations, dining and similar interests before planning your trip.

Maps, photos and text used by permission of Native Roads: The Complete Motoring Guide to the Navajo & Hopi Nations, 2nd Edition by Fran Kosik (Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2005).

Scenic & Historic:

MM 344 Red Lake Trading Post

Also known as Tonalea Trading Post, because Tonalea is a close approximation of the Navajo word for lake, tonteel. Although smaller now, there once was a large lake below the trading post.

MM 345 Elephant Feet(North)

Made of Cowsprings Sandstone, these giant formations look like a pair of elephant’s legs and feet. They are the result of wind and water erosion.

MM 346 White Mesa (North)

This heart-shaped mesa consists primarily of Dakota Sandstone from the Cretaceous Period, formed more than 65 to 135 million years ago. The mesa is about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) wide and 16 miles (25.7 km) long, running north and south.

MM 373 Electric Train (North)

If you’re lucky, you’ll spot the Black Mesa and Lake Powell train, an 88-mile-long (141.6 km) railroad with one destination and one freight: the Peabody Coal silo in the Klethla Valley, and coal. This electric train travels from the Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant on the shores of Lake Powell. It crosses the desert and runs several miles along U.S. Highway 160. It makes three trips a day, carrying 24,000 tons (21,772,800 kg) of coal per trip. The BM & LP train is one of the longest electric coal
trains in the world.

SCENIC DETOUR

MM 374 Navajo National Monument

Turn north off U.S. Highway 160 on to Arizona Highway 564, and drive 10 miles (16.1 km). Hours: May to early September, 8 a.m.–7 p.m. (MDT);early September to mid-December and March through May, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.(DST & MST); mid-December to March, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (MST). Admissionis free; donations welcome. Operated by the National Park Service. Camping is also free, on a first-come, first-served basis in the Sunset View Campground. A maximum of seven nights is allowed in this very nice campground. Shade is provided by Utah juniper and piñon pine in each of the thirty camping sites. There are toilets and running water but no showers or RV hookups. An RV longer than twenty-five feet (7.6 m) is not recommended because of the narrow, winding road through the campground. There is one wheelchair-accessible campsite with toilet. (928) 672-2700.

Sandal Trail
A one-mile (1.6 km) round-trip, paved trail leads from the visitors center to the overlook for Bit!t'ahkin (“ledge house” in Navajo). Built in a large cave around A.D. 1250, it had 135 rooms and a kiva. Approximately 125 Anasazi people lived in Betatakin and farmed in this fertile valley until A.D. 1300. It is believed they left the area after a serious drought changed the farming conditions in the canyon.

During the peak tourist season (May 31–August 31), Navajo National Monument rangers lead groups of twenty-five hikers to visit Betatakin at 8:30 a.m. (MDT) and again at 11 a.m. (MDT) daily. This strenuous five-mile (8 km) round-trip hike takes five to six hours. Time is allowed for an interpretive discussion of the ruin and its environment, and to hike the 700-foot (213 m) ascent. To join the free tour, you must obtain a ticket at the visitors
center on the morning of the hike. No reservations are accepted, and the tickets are given on a first-come, first-served basis. Because temperatures approach 100 degrees (38º C) in the summer, carry at least a gallon of water per person. (You can buy water bottles at the visitors center, but bring a daypack so you can have your hands free.) Solid footwear like
hiking shoes or good sneakers is required because the trail is rocky.

END SCENIC DETOUR

MM 374 Black Mesa Shopping Center AND RV Park (South)

Limited space, showers, dump station, and electricity; (928) 677-3212.

MM 374 Black Mesa & Peabody Western Coal CO. (South)

If you are traveling east, you have seen Black Mesa along the south side of Highway 160 since leaving the Red Lake Trading Post. Black Mesa is the largest single landmass in northern Arizona, embracing almost 20 percent of the entire Navajo Nation. It rises to an elevation of 8,210 feet (2,502 m) and extends from Red Lake to Kayenta, around to Chinle. Its southern escarpment includes the three mesas of the Hopi Nation, reaching
like fingers into the plain. Because of its large underground sandstone strata, it holds the primary water source for the Hopi villages and surrounding Navajo communities. Next to Navajo Mountain, this mesa is one of the more remote and isolated areas in the Southwest. Roads are primitive, and the people living on the mesa remain some of the more traditional on the reservation.

The Peabody Western Coal Co. operates two of the largest open-pit strip mines in the country on Black Mesa. Large deposits of coal are found here because 65 to 135 million years ago this area was a coastal swamp where massive amounts of vegetation accumulated to form coal now found in the Dakota, Torvea, and Wepo formations that predominate in this area.

MM 385 Organ Rock Monocline

Also known as Skeleton Mesa, this monocline visible to the north formed about 75–80 million years ago. It is an excellent example of geologic uplift along vertical faults caused during a period of large-scale earth movements. A monocline is a one-sided fold where the sedimentary rocks on top are draped over the displaced rocks exposed through the fault. At the bottom of the fault is Chinle Sandstone with a solid wall of Wingate Sandstone above it.

MM 393 Burger King (North)

Owned by Navajo businessman Richard Mike, this restaurant has an excellent photographic exhibit on the Navajo Code Talkers. Mike’s father, King Mike, was a Navajo Code Talker in WW II. Because Navajo was not a written language and has many complexities and nuances, it was the only military code the Germans and Japanese were unable to break.

MM 393 Navajo Cultural Center (North)

Just east of the Burger King on the north side of U.S. Highway 160 is a new store built by the Navajo Tribe. Designed in the shape of a hogan with its entrance to the east, the center provides an opportunity for Navajo vendors to demonstrate their crafts. You can watch artisans create rugs, jewelry, and sand paintings, and ceremonial dancers perform on a regularly scheduled basis. Visitors are also welcome to tour authenic dwellings, including a sweathouse.

Community of Kayenta

The Navajo name for Kayenta, Tódínéeshzheé, means “water spreading out like fingers,” referring to a seasonal spring that flows from the hill behind the old Wetherill Trading Post. This town has grown to provide housing for workers at the Peabody Coal mines and to accommodate the thousands of visitors to Monument Valley who come every year from all over the world. In the 1950s and 60s, there was also a booming uranium mining
business in Monument Valley.

Accommodations (Hotels/Camping/RV Parks):

Marsh Pass – Lodging

Anasazi Motel at Tsegi Canyon

Basic accommodations but an incredible location. Two double beds, TV, shower, no phones in the rooms. Prices average $75–$100/night. (928) 697-3793

Kayenta – Lodging

Hampton Inn

This is a three-story adobe-style hotel on U.S. Highway 160 with interior hallways, an elevator, and 73 rooms. Reuben Heflin Restaurant serves lunch and dinner. (928) 697-3170.

Holiday Inn

Located at the junction of U.S. Highways 160 and 163, this motel has 163 rooms and a full-service restaurant featuring both authentic Native American cuisine and traditional American food. Office open 24 hours: (928) 697-3221.

Best Western Wetherill Inn: Located on Main Street in Kayenta, this inn has 54 rooms and an indoor pool. Office hours 7 a.m.–10 p.m. in summer; 8 a.m.–9 p.m. in winter. (928) 697-3231; (800) 528-1234.

Camping / RV

MM 374 Navajo National Monument

MM 374 Black Mesa Shopping Center & RV Park (South)

Limited space, showers, dump station, and electricity; (928) 677-3212 (no message machine).

Tours:

Food & Dining:

Anasazi Motel Restaurant at Tsegi Canyon

Open 5 a.m.–11 p.m. in the summer and 5 a.m.–10 p.m. in the winter. (928) 697-3793

Services (Auto/Gas/Repair/Emergency):

Kayenta

Navajo Area Indian Health Service Clinic

Emergencies only, unless you are a Native American with a census number. Located on Highway 163 just past Wetherill Inn on the west side of the road. (928) 697-3211 (no message machine) or 911.

Kayenta Navajo Police Station: (928) 697-8669.

Art & Culture (Galleries/Trading Posts/Museums):

Shonto

Shonto Trading Post

Approximately 7 miles north of Hwy 160 on Hwy 98, then 6 miles east of Hwy 98 to Shonto, AZ. Navajo Rugs, General Merchandise, Fuel/Diesel, Baskets & Pottery. Owner: Margaret Grieve; Trader: Al Grieve. Open 7 Days A Week. 928-672-2320

Permissions

Trip information is condensed with permission from Native Roads: The Complete Motoring Guide to the Navajo and Hopi Nations, by Fran Kosik, Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson, Arizona, 2005. Trip numbers generally coincide with chapter number in the book. Fran's full book contains much more wonderful information on traveling our Native roads. For more detailed information, the book can be purchased from:
Museum of Northern Arizona bookstore, 3101 N. Ft. Valley Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86001; phone #: 928-774-5213 or direct 928-774-5211 + Ext 261. Or, contact the publisher, Rio Nuevo Publishers, PO Box 5250, Tucson, Arizona 85703; phone #: 520-623-9558 or 800-969-9558. Trip numbers generally correspond to chapter numbers.