Sidetrip To Canyon Diablo

[roadhound]

A few miles north of Two Guns, four to be exact, sits what remains of a real wild west town. Even though Route 66 never went directly through Canyon Diablo it's lore is part of what makes that part of Arizona interesting.

 

Blog entry is HERE

[mga707]

Once again, you're really making me want to do a road trip to the northern part of my state! I need some time off!

Great photos. I've got to take that four mile side trip up onto "the rez" someday, complete with the typical suspension-jarring unpaved road. Sounds just like the road a bit farther north off of the paved Leupp Road (Navajo Route 15) that leads to the Grand Falls of the Little Colorado River. If one goes during a high-water time of year the falls are quite impressive--like a chocolate waterfall!

Interesting that this is one area where the Old Trails Road does not exactly parallel the earlier Santa Fe tracks.

[roadhound]

Thanks mga707, if my photos help inspire you to hit the road and explore then they have done their job. More to come.

 

That area of Arizona, between Flagstaff & Petrified Forest, is an area that I need to spend more time in. We saw so much in the 2 days that we were there but yet missed so much. If it wasn't a 700 mile drive just to get there I would explore it more often. We attempted to find Grand Falls after stopping at the Padre Canyon Bridge and ended up driving many miles over Navajo roads without ever finding the falls, but it was a nice offroad drive across the desert.

 

In regards to Old Trails not following the Santa Fe RR in that area it is probably because of the crossing it would have to make at Canyon Diablo and therefore they diverted south to cross at Two Guns where the distance from one side of the canyon to another was significantly less. Just my thought.

 

Roadhound

[DaleS]

Very nice and interesting report, too bad you didn't get to spend more time in the area.

 

Dale S.