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 . com,
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 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 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.

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 22:24:00 -0400, "Frank F. Matthews"
wrote:



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.

With the caveat that there may not be anything to hook the cable
to; the Navajo Nation can be a pretty barren in places.

--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:25:51 -0700, 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.

AWD *is* 4x4. But without knowing the model we can't know what
sort of road clearance you have. My Forester seems to be adequate
for *most* purposes, and I've bombed down some pretty rugged
roads here in Arizona and northern Mexico.

Most roads in the Navajo Nation are either paved or are good dirt
roads. But there are some dirt roads that aren't well-maintained
and, frankly, you probably ought to stay off them if you're
inexperienced in driving in the desert.

Not all roads are open to the public.

You've been cautioned in other posts about traveling in the rainy
season; washes that are usually dry can suddenly become raging
torrents even though it's not raining where you are. Even worse,
though, where roads cross dry washes heavy deposits of sand may
be deposited at the bottom during rainy seasons, and it's
surprisingly easy to get a 4x4 stuck in sand. Being stuck in the
sand twenty miles from nowhere on a road with traffic of about
one car a day can be downright dangerous, especially during the
summer. Every year we read in the papers about someone who has
died in the Navajo Nation after becoming stuck in sand. Be sure
to carry several gallons of water per person when exploring back
roads anywhere in Arizona; with luck you won't need them, but if
you do need them you will be very happy you brought them.

If you are a member of an AAA organization or if you have a
friend who is, try to get your hands on the Indian Country map.
It probably isn't available everywhere, and probably becomes
rarer the further you are from northern Arizona, but it's well
worth having.

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.


--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

In article ,
Hatunen 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.

Todd Michel McComb wrote:
In article . com,
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 can do almost everything, but not entirely everything, in a
Subaru. I was there in April, and considered it more than sufficient.

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)?

- Peter

On Jun 29, 5:58 am, Hatunen 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