Travel Guide to the Four Corners Monument.

 4 Corners Monument

  

Four Corners Monument is the only place in the United States where four states intersect: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. You can stand on that spot and truly be in four states at one time. 

·         Location from Monticello is either 99.2 miles from Monticello going via Hwy 491 through Colorado; or 90.9 miles going via Hwy 191 through southern San Juan County, UT.

                               Via Hwy 491                                        

   

 Via Hwy 191

Hours of Operation

The Four Corners Monument Visitor Center is open year-round, playing host to a variety of Navajo cultural demonstrations, as well as vendors selling handmade Navajo jewelry, crafts and food.

Open daily. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

* October 1 to March 31: 8 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.

* April 1 to April 30: 8 a.m. - 5:45 p.m.

* May 1 to Thursday of Memorial Weekend: 8 a.m. - 6:45 p.m.

* Friday of Memorial Weekend to Aug 15: 8 a.m. - 7:45 p.m.

* Aug 16 to Sept 30: 8 a.m - -6:45 p.m.

Park Entrance Fees

 Pay in cash at the gate. (The nearest ATM is five miles away in Cortez, CO.)

Adults: $5/day

Children (6 and under): Free

·         Camping: Not Allowed

·         Pets: Not Allowed

For More Information

Four Corners Monument Office

PO Box 861

Teec Nos Pos, AZ 86514

Phone: (928) 206-2540

If you have not tried Navajo Fry Bread yet, this would be a great chance to do it now.  You simply cannot go home without experiencing this culinary treat of the Southwest.

Mary Cokenour 

Historic Flagstaff Train Depot and Visitors Center.

Flagstaff Visitors Center and Amtrak Station

One Route 66
Flagstaff, Arizona, 86001

Phone: (928) 213-2951

Website: http://www.flagstaffarizona.org/plan-your-trip/


Located on Route 66, in downtown and historic Flagstaff, Arizona; the Visitors Center is housed in the former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway depot.  It is packed full of informational material of, not only the Flagstaff area, but all of Arizona. 

The Visitors Center has two gift shop areas at either end chock full of stuffed animals, t-shirts, knick-knacks, postcards, books and all manner of toys and souvenirs. Going down a short hallway brings you to the Amtrak office and waiting area; yes, this is an actual working train station.

Outside, freight trains often come along the tracks; the one we saw happened to have camouflaged Red Cross vehicles either destined for the desert war, or just returning from it.




Along the walkway, that parallels the parking area, there are a set of  Logging Wheels, and two plaques telling their story.  These wheels were restored in 2003 by the Arizona Historical Society Pioneer Museum and were originally built by S.C. Overpack Carriage Works of Manistee, Mich., between 1880-1910.  Logging wheels were first used by farmers around 1870 to clear the trees from their land. When the lumber industry began around 1880’s, the trees were cut down, the wheels were backed over the logs by a team of horses which were then disconnected from the wheels. The tongue of the wheels was lifted into the air, a chain was run under the logs and up to hooks on top of the axle; as the axle was pulled back down, it lifted the logs off the ground. A chain was then run around the front of the logs and the tongue to prevent the tongue from flipping back up. The horses were re-harnessed to the wheels and the logs were pulled out of the woods to the railroad for shipment to the mill.





















Across from the Visitors Center is the McMillan Hotel, named after Thomas F. McMillan, the "father" of Flagstaff.  Originally a bank and hotel, it became home to the opera house; and now is one of only three local craft cocktail bars.




So there you have it, the Flagstaff Visitors Center, not just for information, but full of history!

Mary Cokenour

Standing in Four States at a Single Moment.

I live in southeast Utah which is part of the Four Corners area. What exactly does that mean? The actual four corners are where the boundaries of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet; no where else in the United States does this occur.  The dispute over the borders goes back in history prior to the Civil War; when the United States was warring with, not only the Native Americans, but Mexico over territory.  In 1875 a stone shaft was embedded in the ground to mark off the final survey, but it was not until 1912 that the area was enclosed with a cement shield; a brass plate was set in the center in 1923.  Several times the cement area cracked, even the brass plate broke; 1992 an elevated cement area was built with an aluminum-bronze plaque set in the center.

Guess what?  In early 2009, a survey was published stating that the plaque was in the wrong location and needed to be moved 2.5 miles west.  The BLM and Navajo Nation got involved and it was definitely determined that it was slightly incorrect; only .34 of a mile off center and needed to be moved east, not west. 

So, in 2010, the entire Monument area was rebuilt; elevated pad was removed, plaque set in the correct place with four other plaques set around it in dedication to the four states.  An elevated viewing and seating area was built around the plaque area; the vendor stalls were rebuilt with cement and stone, so no more rickety wooden ones.  Instead of parking directly in the Monument area, there is now a parking lot outside where you can enter from the Arizona side, or walk around the outside and enter through one of the other states.

The various vendors, representing their home state, sell souvenirs of the Monument itself, or of the state; Native American arts and crafts are beautiful and you will find it very difficult not to purchase an item from a vendor in each state section.  There are a few vendors who sell Navajo Fry Bread, so look forward to this treat.

Yabeny Pottery
PO Box 573
Shiprock, New Mexico, 87420
(505) 320-4754
Email: yabenypottery@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.oocities.org/yabenypottery/index.htm

Now walking around the exterior of the Monument, the landscape stays pretty much the same: sandstone hills, desert, sagebrush, cacti; if you're lucky, a herd of wild horses could be grazing, or even walk into the Monument area itself.

The roadway to the Monument is off of Route 160, the Arizona side; there are signs, so you cannot miss the turn.  There is a fee of $3 per person (not vehicle); this is a Navajo Nation Tribal Park, so National or State Park passes are not accepted.

Did Roy and I stand on the center plaque?  Of course we did!  Did we feel a disturbance in the force; did we have a spiritual awakening?  No, but it was cool to do; we now have bragging rights that we did go there, and we did stand on four states at the same moment.

Mary Cokenour