This leg of our journey across America is not going to be an easy one, although it is significantly easier than crossing the New Mexico Mountains. You see, coming into Flagstaff there is a 30 plus mile grade we will have to deal with as Flagstaff is right at 7,000 feet above sea level and our starting point at Four Corners is 5500 so needless to say we will be going up and down inclines on the plains all day. Long downhill slopes and long uphill slopes and the scenery is either breathtaking like Canyon de Chelly and the Painted Desert or it is flat, dusty, windy and uneventful.

From Four Corners we head four miles South to warm up and then we hit Teec Nos Pos make a right turn and go West to Red Mesa and Mexican Water on highway 160 and there is not a lot there at either of these places, but no matter we will not be stopping anyway. After all we will have only gone 32 miles anyway so far. The next town is Dennehotso and then Keyenta, a little bigger town at the crossroads where we will rest after the first 75 miles, but not too long as it gets rather scenic after this and this is the fun part.

We will be passing thru the Navajo Nation and along the Hopi Indian Reservation along Black Mesa and it is 90 miles to Tuba City until we can rest again. After Tuba City we cross into the Hualapai Indian Reservation and Painted Desert, wow, that will be just great, one of the top 10 most scenic places in the country; but we know all to well we must conserve our energy on these hills and grades of 35 miles, because even those great long down hill runs we will have to give back as we make that long steep climb into Flag.

In Flagstaff we will rest and enjoy a wonderful day of rolling down hills, which starts only 7 miles out of town and then puts us in the lower Arizona desert plains. But first we must complete this tough and scenic leg of our journey.