Flagstaff to Winslow, Arizona

Flagstaff to Winslow, Arizona,  58 miles.

Great visit over breakfast with Richard & Laurel Dunn, innkeepers of England House Bed & Breakfast in Flagstaff.

They recommended we visit the Lowell Observatory, just up the hill from the inn, but darn, it didn't open until noon.  Laurel highly recommended the historic Riordan Mansion Museum, as it was designed by the architect of El Tovar and furnished with Arts & Crafts furniture, but darn, it was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona

We enjoyed a visit to the well-known Museum of Northern Arizona, then had lunch at Miz Zip's Route 66 roadside restaurant in Flagstaff



Miz Zip's Route 66 roadside restaurant in Flagstaff, Arizona

before we drove to the Walnut Canyon National Monument on the western outskirts of Flagstaff for a view of the cliff dwellings and pit houses of the Sinagua ancient peoples. 


Cliff Dwellings at Walnut Canyon National Monument near Flagstaff, Arizona

We stopped to see the dramatic Meteor Crater, about mid-way between Flagstaff and Winslow, and



Joan and Dane at Meteor Crater, Arizona

FDR Room 101 at La Posada

arrived in Winslow in late afternoon to check in to the historic La Posada.  This time we had the FDR Room., number 101. 


La Posada, a restored Fred Harvey Hotel in Winslow, Arizona.

Here's some info on La Posada:

Winslow - On May 15, 1930 the famous La Posada Harvey House Hotel opened its doors for business. The last one built in the famous Harvey hotel and restaurant chain, Winslow was chosen for the site, as it was the headquarters for the Santa Fe Railway. Designed by Mary Colter, the famed Grand Canyon architect, she paid careful detail to blending the aspects of both the Native American and Spanish cultures of the area into the hotel. In 1957, the beautiful La Posada Hotel was closed. Two years later, all of its museum-quality furnishings were auctioned off. In the early 1960s much of the building was gutted and transformed into offices for the Santa Fe Railroad.

When the railroad announced plans to move out of Winslow for good in 1994, and the La Posada was scheduled for demolition, the town gathered up and went to work. Today, the La Posada has been fully restored and stands as an oasis in the desert, catering to a new generation of Route 66 adventurers. It is the only original Harvey Hotel on Route 66 that continues to operate as it was first intended.

A Los Angeles couple, Allen Affeldt and Tina Mion, saved La Posada. They have reclaimed and revived most of the original public spaces and rooms (named for famous guests, including Charles Lindbergh, Harry Truman, and Albert Einstein)

Dinner Reservations:  Turquoise Room, La Posada

Fabulous corn/black bean soup and elk pate to start, then pork carnitos and lamb three ways for entrees, and a wonderful chocolate Grand Mariner souffle for two.  Oh, some delicious margaritas, including the house specialty, the Turquoise Margarita made with Blue Curacao!




Turquoise Margarita at La Posada Hotel, Winslow, Arizona