Taking it Easy in Winslow Arizona
Driving from Winona to Holbrook, AZ | Visiting Route 66 Sites in Winslow | Homolovi State Park | Camping in Crystal Forest Campground | January 2026
We started off this morning by driving into Winona to see the Walnut Canyon Bridge. Curtis was expecting it to be a bit more than it was, but he was still able to find a letterbox and I enjoyed the way the bridge framed the San Fransisco Peaks in the background. The skies were overcast today, promising a wet evening, but we still had all day to enjoy outside and were determined to make the most of it.
We drove East to Winslow, and started our time in the town at the visitor center. We had been here previously during our spring break trip in 2014, when we came mostly for the Whispering Giant statue and to do a little letterboxing. We didn’t have anything new that we wanted to see, Curtis had just found a Route 66/Arizona passport challenge for the year and just wanted to check in to some places, and we wanted a place to walk around. We went into the visitor center and chatted with the woman working there. As soon as she heard that we were interested in stamps and stickers, she pulled out a handful of stickers for both Route 66 and AZ state parks. We’re going to need a new designated sticker spot in the van soon, because our current one is nearly full now!
After that, we went on a little walking tour around town, visiting the Whispering Giant again, as well as the train station, and of course the “Standing on the Corner” display on Route 66. How could we not, on the route’s 100th birthday?? We made our way back to the van, then headed to our next destination.
Wanting to check out someplace new, we drove up to Homolovi State Park North of town. We started at the visitor center, where we paid the fee and walked through the exhibits, learning about the people that used to live here and what this land meant to them. We then made our way further into the park, stopping to walk some of the trails. While driving through, we spotted some burros grazing in the open land.
We spent most of our time here on the Homolovi II Archaeological Site interpretive trail. The trail offers views of both some ruins from structures that once stood here, and of the vast surrounding area. But one thing it had that we had never seen before was small pieces of pottery scattered around everywhere, gathered together and placed on rocks for visitors to see and enjoy. There were so many shards of clay pottery, showing that there had been such a large amount and a variety of craftsmanship. Sure, we’ve seen this kind of thing in museums, but there was something so special about seeing it in situ (even if they had been collected a bit) and thinking about how much more they could have found on their digs.
After having lunch in the van, we got back on the road to seek out a campsite for tonight. It was predicted to rain throughout the evening, but then there would be a break in the precipitation the next morning which would allow us time to return to Petrified Forest National Park. Luckily, we learned that on the South side of the park was a free campsite, which seemed like a safe spot to be in the event of rain. We drove in that direction, enjoying the views of the Wigwams of the Wigwam Motel and the dinosaur statues in Holbrook. Just before the Southern entrance of the National Park was the Crystal Forest Campground, a free campsite next to the Crystal Forest museum & gift shop. It wasn’t much, but it was just what we needed for tonight, and it’s really all one could ask for as far as free camping right outside a national park goes! It did end up raining for most of the night, but we were safe on the gravel and had no issues getting out the next morning.
