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On The Road In Arizona: From Route 66 Pop Culture to Amazing Natural Wonders

Middle America Road Trip
Part I—Arizona

Many people think of Arizona as a desert, with summer temperatures reaching 105–115°F. That’s true in the Sonoran Desert, where Phoenix and the Saguaro Cactus are found, but temperatures and landscapes vary significantly across the state. If you drive three to four hours north of Phoenix, you’ll reach some amazing natural wonders that are nothing like the Phoenix area, including Sedona’s Red Rock Region, the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Petrified Forest National Park, and Painted Desert.

The Road Less Traveled

With relatives in Phoenix, we’ve visited Arizona and some of its most famous natural attractions, including the Grand Canyon, Sedona Red Rock Country, and the areas around Phoenix and Scottsdale multiple times.

First-time visitors often head to the Grand Canyon and Sedona Red Rock region, which is what we did the first time we visited the state.

On a recent road trip, starting in Phoenix and ending in Kansas City, we opted to head to several less-traveled places along the route. Here are the key stops we made in Arizona during this trip:

Meteor Crater (a.k.a. Barringer Crater), Winslow

Meteor Crater (a.k.a. Barringer Crater) is an impact crater about 35 miles east of Flagstaff. A 150-foot-wide meteor created a bowl-shaped cavity measuring 500 feet deep and about a mile wide. The cost to enter the crater site and space museum is $25/pp (as of 10/2024) as it is located on private land. If you time it right, you can take a guided rim tour.

Route 66 Attractions, Winslow

Winslow is a sleepy town that offers one major Rte. 66 attraction: Standin’ on the Corner. For Eagles fans, it’s a must. ‘Take It Easy’ is piped outside at the street corner where there are two bronze statues—one of the troubadour (who resembles Jackson Browne, who wrote the song), and one of Glenn Frye (after he died in 2016). A flatbed Ford is parked on the street in tribute to the song’s lyrics. You’ll also see a Route 66 mural on the side of the adjacent building. Finally, the souvenir shop at this intersection had the best selection on our Route 66 itinerary.

Petrified Wood National Park and Painted Desert

Petrified Wood National Park and Painted Desert are in northeastern Arizona, straddling Navajo County and Apache County. They are near the east end of Grand Canyon National Park. Holbrook (population about 5,000) is about 25 miles southwest of it and the closest city. The park road is about 30 miles long, and there are some overlooks, hikes, and features worth a closer look.

It’s worth at least a half-day visit.

We started and ended our visit at the north entrance, where the Painted Desert badlands are shades of reddish-orange. They change to lavender, blue, and gray further south. They are almost other-worldly.

The petrified logs are located in the park's southern half and are easy to see from the road, although there are walking paths and hikes to get a closer look if you have the time. One petrified piece of wood can have a wide variety of colors. There are also petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks (we saw the petroglyphs but not the dinosaur tracks). Although this is a lesser-visited National Park compared to the Grand Canyon or those in Utah, there’s tons to see here. Don’t miss it and allow enough time to see everything. We had to scoot a bit early due to an early winter storm coming through and a long drive ahead.

Leaving Arizona for New Mexico

After the Petrified Forest NP and Painted Forest in Arizona, we drove to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where we stayed for four days. To learn about Santa Fe and other sites we visited in New Mexico, stay tuned for my coming article on New Mexico.

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