15 Fascinating Facts about Northern Arizona
I recently received an email from a potential client complaining about a mass email campaign I sent out pertaining to land for sale in Arizona. The person was annoyed because they believe that this state “is nothing but a dry, hot, flat, boring treeless desert”.
Many parts of Arizona, are not a “dry, flat, and boring treeless desert.”
Arizona has various types of Spruce trees, and these are more prominent in the northern part of the state than the renounced cactus for which the state is known for. Summers are not as warm in most places of northern Arizona, in fact, in the eastern and northern part of the state, near the Colorado Plateau, summers don’t usually rise above 85 degrees. Also, the Colorado Plateau is high elevation, averaging around 4,800 feet, so that’s not flat. “Boring,” is just a matter of opinion, but let’s see if the information provided below conquers this notion or not.
So, without further ado, here are my 15 fascinating facts pertaining to northern Arizona:
The Grand Canyon National Park.
This is the second most visited park in the entire nation. The views are awe-inspiring to people all over the world that come to visit it, and the park has been featured in seven different films. The Hopi tribe considers this area the “gateway to the afterlife,” and it might be easy to see why. The park is huge, stretching about 200 miles from the north rim to the south rim. An interesting and less well-known fact is that it is unknown how old this canyon is, and the area creates its own weather patterns varying in different types of ecosystems. It is also missing 950 million years worth of rocks and doesn’t have any dinosaur fossils in it, wtf.
Famous Route 66
Arizona is home to the longest stretch of this famous highway with scenic drives upon the highway for 388 miles! The highway runs through the Grand Canyon, and many famous towns in northern Arizona, including Flagstaff, Holbrook, Winslow, Kingman, Williams, Seligman, and Oatman. Kingman is home to holding the well known Historic Powerhouse which is a museum featuring all things Route 66. The Jack Rabbit Trading Post in Holbrook is home to a bunny that you can ride, yee-ha. Winslow is so popular that it is mentioned in the song, “Take It Easy.” There is much more on Route 66 to see and do, and hopefully, you’ll take it easy and see it all of it if you decide to travel on it.
The Petrified Forest National Park
More awe-inspiring scenery, tons of hiking, and, of course, home to tons of petrified wood. This park is home to eight well known for its beautiful hiking trails. The park features over one hundred miles of seeming solitude with fossils, mesas, petroglyphs, wildflowers, buttes, badlands, wildlife, ancient wood, and selfies all-by-yourself.
The Hoover Dam
It’s one of the world’s most remarkable man-made structures, and by visiting this dam it’s easy to see how it is an engineer’s dream to explore and study. The height of this big bad boy is ‘726, and provides hydroelectric power for a good deal of the states of Arizona, Nevada, and California. The dam was constructed in the years 1931 to 1936, during the Great Depression, making this world wonder more fascinating due to its construction in this time period. If the engineering doesn’t fascinate you, it is still an amazing place to take photographs, but try not to take selfies on the ledges. Might result in death.
Mules
Awe, asses, the world is full of them. Some places can’t stand living with them, other places can’t live without them. Well, Oatman Arizona is one of the places that can’t live without them for this place’s existence depends on tourists coming to the area by featuring wild donkeys. Yes, wild burros roam the streets of Oatman and people pay to see them. You can feed the mules, and you can pet them, but don’t get too close to their backsides.
Ghost Towns
There are many ghost towns that can be visited in northern Arizona. Two of the most famous include 2 Guns outside of Flagstaff and the town of Adamana near the Petrified Forest National Park. 2 Guns consists of an old campground, mountain lion cages, and a gas station covered in modern artistic versions of what is known as graffiti. Adamana was once a popular railway stop for the Sante Fe Railroad in which tourists would come to in order to explore the Petrified Forest and then more than likely head on to the Grand Canyon afterward if traveling from east to west. In 1965 there was a terrible fire that destroyed most of the town including the hotel which featured a register signed by Teddy Roosevelt and the King of Spain. Now there are only some remnants of the buildings from the town that once was, but the land still exists there so you can still go and see this area.
Forests?
That’s right, I said forests located in Arizona. Famous forests in Arizona include the Kaibab National Forest which lies inside of the Grand Canyon. But other forests include the Coconino National Forest and the Tonto National Forest. The Coconino National Forest is known as one of the most diverse National Forests in the nation in regards to landscapes. This area features the red-painted rocks of the famous town of Sedona, alpine tundra, desert landscape, and Ponderosa pine trees, wildlife, canyons, fish, and includes beautiful lakes and streams featuring two million acres of lumber and mining land. The Tonto forest which lies in northern and southern Arizona is the most visited forest in the nation and features the cactus plants, such as the famous Saguaro cactus, as well as 3 million acres of beautiful and rugged country. It’s also important to mention that the city of Prescott also has a forest, its called the Prescott National Forest.
Parks and More National Recreation Areas
Northern Arizona is home to many beautiful parks. Some of these parks include Buffalo Park, Glen National Recreation Area, Navajo National Monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, and Wupatki National Monument. Buffalo Park is known for Arizona’s highest mountain range, while Wupatki National Monument, nearby, is known for its ancient pueblos. To the north lies Glen National Recreation Area located on the border of Utah and Arizona, to the east is the Navajo National Monument known for preserving the heritage of the Pueblo people. Lastly, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, also known as Tsegi, is the most uninterrupted place located on the Colorado Plateau.
Skiing?
Another word that doesn’t seem to combine with Arizona, but the state has some well-known places to ski. In Flagstaff, there is the Arizona snow bowl. Greer, located in Apache county, is located at an elevation of 8,300 feet and is at the White Mountains of the state. Lastly, there is Pine-Top Lakeside, located within Navajo County which is known for its forest land as well as summer resorts. And if snow is just your thing, you could always visit the town of Snowflake, Arizona.
Take a Drive in Bearizona
Want to see some black bears hanging out on the top of Spruce trees? You might just see them in Bearizona in the town of Williams, Arizona. This park is regarded as the country’s best drive-through wildlife park. If you are lucky you might see black bears doing what black bears do best, hanging around, just like people seem to do in Winslow.
Sedona
Because of Sedona, duh. If needing another reason, Sedona is the ultimate vacation destination. It’s full of gorgeous scenery and red rocks. Many people get married and have their honeymoon in Sedona. It has many shops and southwest themed souvenirs to choose from, hotels, and restaurants. There is a ton of outdoor recreation located here and the weather is nice almost all year round. Need I mention anything else?
Food and Pies
The food located in northern Arizona is stellar. Here are some places worth mentioning: Phantom Ranch, Alpine Pizza, Turquoise Room, Delgadillo’s Snow Cap, and Rock Springs Cafe. Forget Sheri’s, Rock Springs Cafe has amazing all American food and pies. Delgadillo’s Snow Cap is famous for some good old American burgers. Phantom Ranch, located way north, is unique, while Alpine Pizza obviously sells pizza. The Turquoise Room also serves a variety of food types, while Rock Springs Cafe specializes in more pies.
Christmas?
More things that don’t seem to go together, Arizona: snow, holidays, and the holiday season. Yet, the Flagstaff area always receives snow for Christmas and there is a place to go in the city to enjoy all of the holiday festivities and lights featured at the Little America Hotel. Furthermore, it is important to note that Flagstaff is one of America’s snowiest cities averaging 120 inches of snow per year. Lastly, if you really enjoy Christmas, make sure to visit the ghost town of Santa Claus, Arizona off of Route 66.
Coffee
If you really need to get your kicks on Route 66, just stop off in Flagstaff. Flagstaff is renounced as featuring a variety of various sorts of amazing and independent coffee shops. One coffee shop well worth noting is Late for the Train. This coffee shop’s name not only notes the concept that Flagstaff is well known for its historic trains but is well known for having a very delicious dark roast coffee. Also, the town is completely surrounded by all types of Spruce trees, so, take that Seattle, aka Starbucks.
Stand in the Four States at the Same Time
Still haven’t decided whether or not northern Arizona is an awesome place to visit or live in? Well, you can choose to leave Arizona out of all the states to stand in at the Four Corners. The Four Corners is the only place in the country where you can stand in four states at the same time. So, if you still don’t like the state of Arizona, think it is boring, flat, and dry, go ahead and stand in the corners of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, because Arizona doesn’t like you either.
Northern Arizona is mystical, awe-inspiring, and fascinating. If you would like to browse our current parcels located within northern Arizona, you may do so here:
https://easylandowner.com/listings/2-5-acres-petrified-forest-estates-apache-az/
https://easylandowner.com/listings/2-5-acres-holbrook-sun-valley-arizona/
https://easylandowner.com/listings/1-acre-concho-arizona-lot-357/
https://easylandowner.com/listings/1-02-acres-concho-arizona/
https://easylandowner.com/listings/1-acre-concho-arizona/
Mention this article and receive an additional 200 dollars off any of our Arizona properties!
Angela Myers
Chief Marketing Officer
Easy Landowner LLC
www.easylandowner.com
503-482-2089
Sources:
Arizona: The Grand Canyon State. “Oatman”. 2020. https://www.visitarizona.com/cities/west-coast/oatman.
Beth, Amy. and Wright, Derek. Northern Arizona- Parks and Points. “Northern Arizona”. https://www.parksandpoints.com/northern-arizona.
Cannon, Kevin. “10 Iconic Arizona Restaurants Worth Traveling For”. Phoenix New Times. June 14, 2017.
https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/restaurants/10-iconic-arizona-restaurants-9412822.
Legends of America. “Route 66- Facts and Trivia”. 2020.
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-facts/.
National Park Service. “Petrified Forest”.
https://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm.
Pink Adventure Tours.“20 Amazing Facts About the Grand Canyon”. Apr. 20th, 2018.
https://www.pinkadventuretours.com/blog/20-amazing-grand-canyon-facts/.
Therese, Maureen. Top Ten Travel Blog. “101 Things to do in Arizona”. June 13th, 2018.
https://www.top-ten-travel-list.com/blog/arizona/101-things-northern-arizona/.
USDA National Forest Service. “Coconino National Forest”.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/coconino/.
USDA National Forest Service. “Tonto National Forest’.
