Our Great Southwest Adventure: Day 6

Day 6: March 21, 2014

Farmington, NM to Payson, AZ

For most of our trip, we had carefully spaced out all the places we were visiting and made sure we were only driving 3-5 hours. But today, we couldn’t avoid a longer (7 hour) drive. We ended up adding on more to our time by going back to 4 corners. But being able to say you stood in 4 states at once is worth it, right?

it happened

Anyway, today was mostly a long drive with a few letterbox stops. It was all worth it by the end though, just wait to see why!

$3 per person to stand here and say you did it. Now we don’t have to do it ever again.

After this, we began a long and boring drive through Navajo land again. There aren’t many letterboxes around, so it was mostly a “hurry up and get to I-40” kind of drive!

We did stop at the National Hubbell Trading Post site, and enjoyed driving through Chinle, where Curtis and I went with the U of A Navigator group for Spring Break 2012.

We didn’t really tour, just stopped to get the National Park passport stamps and say we did.

Finally, we made it to I-40! Stopped for another letterbox on historic route 66, somewhere near Navajo, AZ. This time on the far East side of the state (as compared to day 2, when getting a box on the far West side!)

Continuing West, we stopped in Holbrook, AZ, to check on a letterbox Curtis planted, and ended up relocating it.

Driving through Holbrook is interesting, to say the least!

Dinosaur statues all around the town…

Interesting statues….

And “Bucket of Blood Street”. How did it get that name??

We continued a little further West, to Winslow, AZ. It was a lovely town and we’d love to come back and visit!

The Turquoise Room, an artsy hotel.

Take it Easy, Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona!

The reason why we came? Because Winslow, AZ is the home of Arizona’s Whispering Giant Structure!

Curtis and I have now visited 3 of these – in Minnesota, Kansas, and now Arizona. They are all amazing carvings, and all happen to have a letterbox hidden somewhere nearby with an equally amazing carving of the statue! Maybe someday, we’ll plan a vacation completely centered around finding these in each state.

I could tell why the carver wanted the statue in Winslow. It was the perfect location!

After this, we started on the last leg of today’s long drive – South to Payson, AZ.

We are entering the Tonto National Forest…trading red rocks and snow capped mountains for pine trees!

This drive was hilly with winding roads, but beautiful. It reminds me of Colorado. I love how different all parts of Arizona are!

We finally reached our destination – 12 miles North of Payson, AZ, is a beautiful ranch called Kohl’s Ranch. We have now been there twice, and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to visit this beautiful part of Arizona!

We even got upgraded to a deluxe cabin. Here’s some pictures of the inside:

Master bedroom…complete with Jacuzzi tub!

Second bedroom

Kitchen, filled with all the supplies we needed to make our own meals here.

Living room with fireplace & tv

In the dining room, facing living room.

Outside the cabin, facing Tonto Creek

A look at our home for the next 2 nights!

Our good friend Mitch came up to stay with us for the weekend. He also brought delicious steaks for our first dinner there. To wrap up this long driving day, we relaxed and enjoyed the resort’s pool and hot tub!

Day 6 Wrap Up: Drove 390 miles, Hiked 2.6 miles, visited 4 Corners and Hubbell National Trading Post site, got 2 letterboxes, and stood in 4 states at once!