Route 66 Leg 5: Albuquerque to Flagstaff

The historic El Rancho Hotel in Gallup was built by Joe Massaglia in 1936 and has been featured in dozens of old Hollywood movies. The Western-style hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and features wagon-wheel headboards and suites named after famous Hollywood Western stars. Even if you don't spend the night here, at least pull over to check out the epic hunting lodge-inspired lobby, which is full of antiques and Native American decor. The onsite restaurant makes a delicious green chile enchilada, a tasty margarita, and the crispiest pancakes you’ll find along the route.

Once you cross the border into Arizona, Yellowhorse Trading Post, conveniently located on I-40 in Lupton (and next to the Teepee Trading Post), should be your first stop. This Navajo-owned trading post has been run by the Yellowhorse family since the 1950s, when they began selling Navajo rugs and petrified wood to travelers.

The Allentown Bridge, located in Apache County, is a great photo op. Built in 1923, the bridge crosses the Puerco River and is on the National Register of Historic Places. While you’re in the neighborhood, the Querino Canyon Bridge on old Route 66, just a few miles away, is another stunner.

A forest in the middle of Arizona’s grassland may sound odd, but Petrified Forest National Park is unlike any other forest in the country. The park is packed with gems—quite literally, since the ancient wood has been turned into sparkly stone—that anyone, from the outdoor enthusiast to the science geek, can enjoy.

The park’s location right off the highway means that many people at least drive through it (though it closes as early as 5 p.m., so plan accordingly). A portion of old Route 66 is located within the park—the only portion of the classic road to still be preserved within a national park (the asphalt is gone so it’s not driveable, but look for the old telephone poles marking the route). Wilderness camping is available within the park. Homolovi State Park, about an hour away, also offers camping options. Nearby in Holbrook, Arizona, are additional accommodation and camping options, including a KOA.

Don't let the glittering logs temp you into snagging a souvenir—removing any petrified wood from the park is illegal. You can purchase a box of petrified wood from a gift store (sourced from private lands), but don’t open it until you’ve left the park premises.

Summers in the park can get hot, with little to offer in the way of shade, and winters are often cold and snowy. Wildflowers pop up throughout the desert between March and October, especially in May, July, and August, so if you're looking for an extra colorful landscape, this is a good time to visit.

There's more to Petrified Forest than its eponymous sparkly logs—it's also an important archaeological and anthropological site. Visitors can still check out the sandstone ruins of Puerco Pueblo, a once-bustling community that dates back to the 1200s.

Near Puerco Pueblo you’ll find a spiral petroglyph on a boulder that aligns perfectly with a beam of sunlight for about two weeks near the solstice. The shaft of sunlight travels down the side of the spiral and touches the center as the sun rises, peaking at 9 a.m. If you happen to be visiting outside of the 2-week window, you can still see the boulder and read the informative interpretive sign nearby.

Inside the national park, tour the Rainbow Forest Museum featuring hands-on exhibits and displays. Behind the museum is one of Petrified Forest's best hikes, the Giant Logs Trail. If you're limited on time and looking to get as much out of the park as possible, this is a great place to start.

Watching educational videos and looking at displays is a good way to get background on the petrified wood, but nothing beats seeing the actual thing up close. It’s a surprising experience to see so many sparkly, colorful logs in one place, and it’s hard to believe that these trees are 220 million years old.

The eight-room Agate House was likely built between the years 1050 and 1300, and was reconstructed in the 1930s. It was built using petrified wood and is still in remarkably good condition. See it for yourself by hiking the 2-mile round trip trail from the Rainbow Forest visitor center.

The Crystal Forest is an easy hike along a paved walkway. The loop, named for the quartz crystals sometimes found in the wood, takes you past piles of petrified wood. It's only three-quarters of a mile, but take your time and enjoy the views.

The 1-mile Blue Mesa trail takes you further into the Painted Desert, where the hills take on hues of gray, purple, and blue. It's definitely not a typical desert landscape—seriously, it looks like you're on a different planet—which makes it well worth a visit.

For a park that's less than 150 square miles in size, it's pretty impressive that more than 600 archaeological sites have been found within Petrified Forest's boundaries. The cryptic petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock were carved between 650 and 2,000 years ago. Visit and try to decipher their meaning yourself.

This is a great base camp for exploring the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park. It’s also just an hour west of Meteor Crater. The campground offers full hookup RV sites, tent sites, and cabins.

Holbrook is a town that’s defied extinction, in more ways than one. It’s one of the rare Route 66 towns that managed to scrape by after the Mother Road was decommissioned. Holbrook is steeped in retro vibes and remains filled with “touristy” kitsch; its proximity to Petrified Forest National Park hasn’t hurt its popularity. Whether you’re trying to find the best deal on gemstones and souvenirs—or you’re in search of as many dinosaur statues as possible—Holbrook is worth exploring. It also happens to be home to the iconic Wigwam Village Motel #6, so you can spend the night and grab a breakfast burrito smothered in red or green chile from Joe and Aggie’s Cafe in the morning.

At Stewart's Petrified Wood, you can buy the world’s most colorful petrified wood—some of which the store claims is more than 225 million years old. If that’s not reason enough to pull over, Stewart’s also has ostriches and ostrich eggs for sale.

This classic Route 66 restaurant is best-known for its homemade red and green chile sauces. Even if you’re not hungry, it’s worth stopping for a photo in front of the building, which features a hand-painted map of Route 66.

Drive through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park in the late afternoon and then stop at Wigwam Village Motel #6 for the night. The rooms of this charming historic motel—located inside individual concrete and steel teepees—are pure roadside kitsch. There are only three remaining Wigwam Motels, and the vintage cars parked outside of each room make this the best one for photos.