By Staff Writer James Schryver
The Four Corners Region of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah has so many opportunities for experiencing the American Southwest’s unique terrain and culture.
Why is this area call the Four Corners Region? When the American West was being surveyed, President Lincoln recognized New Mexico and Arizona as two separate territories and so when the border was being drawn between the two, the location in which it was placed was directly in line with the border splitting Colorado and Utah. This decision for this location was based on the Washington Meridian. Today, at this location, there sits a monument with each state’s seal as well as state lines coming into one central point. Within the monument, there are seating areas as well as locations to take pictures from the four different states. Along the outside, there is a brief plaque with the state’s history as well as several booths for vendors to sell handmade goods to tourists.
I come from the town of Farmington, in San Juan County, New Mexico. While Farmington is a smaller town, it is the largest in the county. There is not exactly a lot to do within the city especially as far as entertainment goes, but I can tell you that I used to take day trips with my family that would show me such incredible beauty and lead me to appreciate the region that much more. On weekends, my parents would pack up the car with me and a few of my friends and we would tour all around the area. It helps that my parents have lived in the area for over twenty years because I would not have learned half as much about the culture. This will be a series of several different trips one can take into Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
Usually, our first feature we would pass (depending on where we were heading) was the petroglyphs on Highway 64 outside of Waterflow, NM. We would then get to see the jagged rock features that make up “the Hogback” going down that same road. Then, on Indian Service Route 13, Shiprock or Tsé Bit’a’í (rock with wings) would be our first major stop of the trip. This is a large unerupted volcano that stands about 1500 feet tall and can be seen all across the region. There is also a magma wall where lava pushed up through the ground in what looks like a wall that stretches for several hundred feet, going South from Shiprock as well as extending West off of the rock. This rock holds special significance to the Navajo people.
After Shiprock, we would move West on Indian Service Route 13 towards Buffalo Pass. There is an area called Red Rock that is stunning. The contrast of the red clay and red rock alongside the dark brown and green of the Ponderosa pines is something that I have not seen anywhere before. When we get to the top of Buffalo Pass, it is always amazing to look out at the vastness of San Juan County as well the Four Corners region. From up there, Shiprock looks tiny because of how high up you are. We would then continue on until we hit the town of Lukachukai. One time, I was riding with my family, taking this same trip, and as we came up the mountain, we were stopped by a giant herd of cows being led down the hill by cowboys on horseback. We stopped for about 10 minutes while these cows passed by either side of the vehicle after fattening up for the winter. Once we pass Lukachukai, we take a left onto Navajo Route 12 to Tsaile, where you would then take a right onto Navajo Route 64 towards Chinle, AZ.
Outside of Chinle, is Canyon de Chelly National Monument. This area stretches several miles and has multiple different lookout points to observe amazing canyon features as well as old Anasazi dwellings. At some of these lookout points, you can actually walk out to almost the edge of the canyon walls. There is one area that allows you to hike down into the canyon and walk along the canyon floor. When looking down, you will notice that people live at the bottom of the canyon and, for this reason, tourists are not allowed to be free roaming around down there. There are some locations where vendors sell some handmade art. People sell paintings, jewelry, t-shirts, and all sorts of different art. After a long day walking around the canyon, you should find yourself at the Thunderbird Lodge in Chinle and have a nice dinner of Navajo tacos. Also, a lot of times, if you get hungry during the day, you can find someone on the side of the road selling mutton stew, frybread, cornmeal mush, and several other snacks.