Navajo Indian reservation and AWD drive car

Greetings! I would like to visit Navajo Indian reservations in
Arizona. I have an All wheel Drive car. Will AWD will be sufficient or
I need 4x4 SUV? I live in USA. With thanks.

In article <1183058751.745660.42900@n60g2000hse.. com>,
asdf3b <arouth@radiology.umsmed.edu> wrote:
>Greetings! I would like to visit Navajo Indian reservations in
>Arizona. I have an All wheel Drive car. Will AWD will be sufficient or
>I need 4x4 SUV? I live in USA. With thanks.

You can do almost everything, but not entirely everything, in a
Subaru. I was there in April, and considered it more than sufficient.

It's also a recommended vacation area. Take a horseback tour.

"asdf3b" wrote...

> Greetings! I would like to visit Navajo Indian reservations in
> Arizona. I have an All wheel Drive car. Will AWD will be sufficient or
> I need 4x4 SUV? I live in USA. With thanks.
>
You will be able to go to a lot of places on The Rez with any car,
certainly with an AWD. In the cases where conditions get tough, high
clearance and "tough" tires are oftentimes much more important that 4WD or
AWD. Give us a feeling for the most off-the-beaten-track roads you plan to
travel and we may have more advice. Time of year can also be an issue w.r.t.
monsoon rains and snowmelt issues. For timing plans, assume that you will
get temporarily lost when on the Rez's back roads and don't expect to do
better than 30 mph oftentimes. Take water and food. If there's a signal
where you are, a cell phone could be very handy. If worst comes to worst,
try to be able to describe by cell phone where you are and how you got
there--or have a GPS to give help to the tow truck driver or other folks.
From the various maps I've seen, they seem to include only a small portion
of the various roads and tracks on the Rez. What seems a slam dunk via map
can become quite a challenge on the ground, and even more so if you're
running low on water or fuel or have some other issue. If you truly get
"lost", remembering how you got there will let you back out the way you came
in.

There's an incredible view of Coal Mine Canyon just off Hwy 264 worth
visiting with any car--less than a mile of non-pavement. If there's been any
recent rain in the state--wishful thinking, it seems--a trip out to the
Grand Fall of the Little Colorado River from Leupp Rd is wonderful. A more
challenging solo trip might be to wend your way from the Hopi Mesas through
Pinon, Black Mesa and back to pavement near Navajo NM and Kayenta. If
there's no water at Grand Falls, another trip that's exciting is to cross
the Little Colorado just above the Falls, then travel through the Rez to
Black Falls Crossing which leaves the Rez and enters Wupatki NM and
eventually pavement again. The short loop you can make solo in Monument
Valley can be done--slowly--with almost any vehicle. But honestly, a guided
tour into Monument Valley is so much better--and I'd done both solo in a
small rental auto and the all-day guided Monument Valley tours. I have yet
to take a guided trip into Canyon de Chelly but imagine that'd be great,
too. For nice lodging with the best window views I've ever seen, spending a
night at Gouldings Lodge just outside of Monument Valley is super--they
offer guided tours into the Valley as well. Prices vary a lot seasonally for
lodging--I chose the cheapest off-season for my night at the Lodge. Don't
sleep through sunset or sunrise. Camping is available in Monument Valley
with views as great as from Gouldings and at a much lower price.

And if you haven't read them, before starting the trip read the various
Tony Hillerman murder mysteries. Please read them in order of publication!
The CAA Indian Country Map is great. I think there's also a "Tony Hillerman"
map available.

Good luck. Have fun. Don't get discouraged--I'm giving you a worst-case
scenario above since you haven't told us where you plan to travel.

Craig in Flagstaff

On Jun 28, 12:25 pm, asdf3b <aro...@radiology.umsmed.edu> wrote:
> Greetings! I would like to visit Navajo Indian reservations in
> Arizona. I have an All wheel Drive car. Will AWD will be sufficient or
> I need 4x4 SUV? I live in USA. With thanks.



Depends. There are highways that are usable by regular sedans. There
are roads that are accessible using AWD or 4WD. Then there are roads
which may not be accessible at all, esp. after a heavy rain. There
are also areas that are restricted.

asdf3b wrote:

> Greetings! I would like to visit Navajo Indian reservations in
> Arizona. I have an All wheel Drive car. Will AWD will be sufficient or
> I need 4x4 SUV? I live in USA. With thanks.
>

Not if it rains. Even a 4x4 can get stuck in mud or wet sand. That's
why they should have a winch.

In article <4hv883t7kqfcojujmokqdk1varuhtcnac6@>,
Hatunen <hatunen@cox.net> wrote:
>The one must-see is Canyon de Chelly. Take the all-day tour (you
>can only take tours) if at all possible: it's well worth it.

By which you must mean the horse tour, I hope.

On Jun 29, 5:58 am, Hatunen <hatu...@cox.net> wrote:

snipped
>
> The one must-see is Canyon de Chelly. Take the all-day tour (you
> can only take tours) if at all possible: it's well worth it.
>
I also recommend Canyon de Chelly, and it#s been a while since I've
been there. It's my favorite canyon country place. The statement
about tours isn't exactly correct. Basically, you can drive along the
rim of both canyons on the highway and stop at a few vista points.
You can also walk the trail to one of the cliff dwellings from the rim
to the canyon floor. Otherwise, to access the canyon floor you have
to have a Navajo guide with you. This can be done as a tour on the
back of a truck which has seats, or can be done with your own four
wheel drive or the guides, and also by horseback.
Whatever you do, you should have an excellent trip. Unfortunately we
didn't have time for the whole day trip which I would also recommend
as it will take you up to Spider Rock which otherwise you can only
view from above at the canyon rim.

George

On Jun 29, 6:02 pm, Hatunen <hatu...@cox.net> wrote:
> On Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:20:23 -0700, george <gpolkow...m>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >On Jun 29, 5:58 am, Hatunen <hatu...@cox.net> wrote:
>
> >snipped
>
> >> The one must-see is Canyon de Chelly. Take the all-day tour (you
> >> can only take tours) if at all possible: it's well worth it.
>
> >I also recommend Canyon de Chelly, and it#s been a while since I've
> >been there. It's my favorite canyon country place. The statement
> >about tours isn't exactly correct. Basically, you can drive along the
> >rim of both canyons on the highway and stop at a few vista points.
> >You can also walk the trail to one of the cliff dwellings from the rim
> >to the canyon floor. Otherwise, to access the canyon floor you have
> >to have a Navajo guide with you. This can be done as a tour on the
> >back of a truck which has seats, or can be done with your own four
> >wheel drive or the guides, and also by horseback.
> >Whatever you do, you should have an excellent trip. Unfortunately we
> >didn't have time for the whole day trip which I would also recommend
> >as it will take you up to Spider Rock which otherwise you can only
> >view from above at the canyon rim.
>
> The all day truck tour also comes with a brownbag lunch.
>
> Keep in mind that the canyon floor is, in fact, a riverbed which
> the 6x6 trucks go wallowing through. There are alo a variety of
> other tours, such as jeeps and cehicles like 4x4 Suburbans. I
> like the fun of the open air 6x6s with a buch of other people.
>
We went in very late December and the truck breaking through the ice
on the rivers made the trip even more interesting. And we entered the
canyon by driving quite a distance up the river in the water. I
certainly wouldn't try it in my own vehicle at that time of year
because there are some pretty deep holes that you wouldn't see through
the ice.

On the whole day trip how much further do you go past Spider Rock, and
besides it, is anything else really that different?

George

In article <pP1hi.42701$5j1.15286@newssvr21.news.> ,
Peter Lawrence <hummbaby@> wrote:
>What were the few things that you could not do with a Subaru on the
>Navajo lands (that you would have been able to do with a higher
>clearance SUV)?

I saw roads that would be dicey, but frankly, I wasn't intending
to go that way in the first place. Certainly all the major tourist
attractions are doable.

In article <nmda83huuvj53r1c7malt242qobn0asob0@>,
Hatunen <hatunen@cox.net> wrote:
>It pretty much ends at Spider Rock. Well, not "ends": you turn
>around and come back.

I've been out past Spider Rock, and basically the upper reaches of
the canyon are steeper, rather than the very flat bottom of the
lower part. The scenery is somewhat different.