Travel the Trails

Trip 13: US-191 S: Junction of US-160/191 to I-40

142 miles (229 km) from Junction of U.S. 160/191 to Interstate 40

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.

Scenic & Historic:

MM 495 Rock Point

Established in 1926, this community fifteen miles south of U.S. Highway 160 is the starting point of “Red Rock Country.” This scenic area stretches all the way from here to Red Rock on the east side of the Chuska Mountains. Most of the rock in this area is Wingate Sandstone, formed during the Triassic Era. The bottom layer, or Salt Wash Formation, holds large deposits of uranium, mined in the Lukachukai Mountains in the 1950s.

MM 485 Lukachukai Mountains

To the east are the Lukachukai Mountains, a small range that runs from Round Rock to Lukachukai, where the Chuska Mountains begin.

MM 485 Round Rock Trading Post

This trading post once belonged to Chee Dodge and his partner Stephen Aldrich in 1881. Chee Dodge was the first chairman of the Navajo Tribe. He was appointed by a Bureau of Indian Affairs agent in 1884 because of his leadership and speaking skills. Dodge was born in 1860 in Fort Defiance; his father was a Mexican interpreter and his mother was a member of the Coyote Pass Clan. When Kit Carson carried out his scorched earth plan to subjugate the Navajos, Dodge’s family fled for the safety of the Grand Canyon. On the way, his mother stopped at Walpi to ask for food but died at the hands of angry villagers tired of Navajo raiders. His family continued on to the Grand Canyon but eventually came back to Fort Defiance to surrender to Kit Carson when they heard that other Navajos had surrendered at Canyon de Chelly.

At the age of four, Dodge made the long walk to Bosque Redondo with his aunt. There he learned to speak English fluently. He became the “boy interpreter” and upon his release from Fort Sumner, returned to Fort Defiance to serve as an interpreter and Army scout. Dodge later became a very successful rancher who owned vast amounts of grazing land. He loaned Lorenzo Hubbell money and on two occasions loaned money to St. Michaels Mission. Dodge helped the Franciscans establish their mission school as an alternative to the repressive government boarding schools.

This trading post was the site of the famous Black Horse Rebellion of 1892. Black Horse and other Navajos held Indian agent David Shipley hostage to put an end to the deceitful methods he used to lure children to school, which included kidnapping and physical abuse. The people of Round Rock could stand no more and took the law into their own hands to protect their children.

A Navajo policeman barely rescued David Shipley, named Tł’izinishchxon (Smelly Goat) by the community, from being beaten to death. When a battalion of soldiers finally arrived at Round Rock, Black Horse and his followers were arrested and taken to Fort Wingate. There they testified to officials about Shipley’s cruel treatment of their children, resulting in his removal from office.

Junction of US Highway 191 AND Navajo Route 12 Turn south on U.S. 191 to Chinle.

MM 470 Chinle Wash

Cottonwood thrives in areas where water is plentiful, such as wash beds and around springs. They belong to the poplar family and have cotton-like hairs that grow around the seed. The Hopi use the cottonwood root to make katsina dolls and paho (prayer feather) sticks.

MM 462 Many Farms

Its Navajo name is Dá´ák'ehalání, meaning large cultivated fields.

Tseyí Shopping Center (West)

Working with the Center for Diné Studies at Chinle Public School, this Bashas’ store labels more than two hundred food products in the Navajo language. The goal of the project is to promote the use of the Navajo language.

MM 392 Wide Ruins

The name comes from the translation of Kinteel, or “wide house,” the Navajo name for the ancient ruin found in this area.

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Services (Auto/Gas/Repair/Emergency):

Chinle

MM 445 CHINLE COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CARE FACILITY (West)

This hospital truly incorporates Navajo tradition into its health-care system.  As a visitor to the Navajo Nation, you can be seen at the hospital for an emergency only, such as an auto accident with injuries. For all other health conditions, you must visit a private physician or health facility. Emergency room: (928) 674-7001.

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

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.