Glorious Coconino

* GLORIOUS * COCOΝΙΝΟ

THERE is a county in Northern Arizona so big, so rich in scenic splendour, so full of color and historic lore as to fill the most uninspired traveler with ecstacy and awe. Its 18,629 square miles of enchantment is a mighty canvas upon which the boldest patterns and designs have been drawn. You could take a state like Massachusetts, or Connecticut, or Rhode Island, or Deleware, drop it in the middle of this county and kerplunk! it would be lost. San Francisco Peaks in Coconino county... the top of the world in our land. Here the snows lie deep until late spring. These lofty elevations are a land mark for all travelers in Northern Arizona, and they lend the backdrop for one of the finest skiing areas in the West.

Oak Creek Canyon . . . a celestial creation in brilliant color, poetry in cliffs, trees and water. Alternate U. S. Highway 89, between Prescott and Flagstaff, winds its enchanted way through the heart of this area.

Canyons-mesas-plateaus-mountainstowering San Francisco Peaks-ruins-a few Indians tribes-a few villages and a couple of modern cities like Flagstaff and Williams-roll them all together and tie them in the gayest ribbons-and you have Coconino County of Arizona.

The city of Flagstaff is the HUB of this glorious county, and aside from Williams, "Gateway to the Grand Canyon," it is the only city of any size in this vast sparsely populated region. Permanent settlement in Flagstaff by white men was begun in 1876. On the Fourth of July of that year, as part of the celebration, a stately pine tree world than any other natural spectacle and certainly the ultimate in scenic grandeur is the incomparable Grand Canyon of Arizona. This great national park of over 1000 square miles is an indescribable phenomenon of erosion with its myriad of fantastically formed spires and temples of majestic tones and hues rising from a veritable mile depth and slashing through nearly 200 miles of painted rock layers of Coconino county's vast expanse in some places to an unbelievable width of nearly 18 miles. Easily accessible over smooth highways and with varied types of accommodations available at both the North Rim and the South Rim, this greatest of spectacles should be the

In the pine-clothed mountains of Coconino the traveler finds lakes, like precious jewels, reflecting the deep blue sky. This is Lake Mary, an attraction for travelers and campers during the long summer months.

Williams . . . the Gateway to the Grand Canyon . . . one of the important travel centers of the West. In the background is lofty, historical Bill Williams Mountain.

Coconino County is the largest county in area in Arizona and the second largest in the United States. It consists of 18.629 square miles, packed with more scenic wonders per mile than any similar area on Earth, and within its borders alone are travel pleasures to fill any ordinary lifetime. The county, created by an act of the territorial legislatum in 1891, was named from the Havasupai Indian word meaning "little water." Today those some Indians live in an idyllic canyon, part of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, where abundant blue-green waters form beautiful falls between imposing canyon valls. Another explanation of the name is that it is the Hopi word for the Havasupai, "Pinon nut people."

Less than 15 per cent of the total area of Coconino County is privately owned, the rest being operated by the Forest Service, the Indian Service, and the National Park Service.

In Coconino County is the highest elevation in Arizona, the San Francisco Peaks, rising to a height of 12.611 feet. Sweeping plateaus spread from the base of these peaks at an average elevation of some 7.000 feet above sea level. Flag staff is the county seat and the largest city in the county. Second in importance is the city of Williams, at the foot of Bill Williams Mountain.Mountains plateaus forests and the Painted Desert modern cities and century-old prehistoric ruins from Sycamore and Oak Creek Canyon to Grand Canyon from the Hopi and the Navajo to the Havasupai every mile of Coconino County is a mile of travel enchantment.

The number one attraction on any vacation list. Not to see it not to feel its awe inspiring grip is not to know it because words, the artist's brush, the camera's lens cannot interpret its majestic and ethereal beauty. Too many have tried and failed.Second perhaps only to the Grand Canyon is beautiful Oak Creek Canyon which twists through red-walled gorges and stately evergreens, following the contour of icy trout-laden Oak Creek, a fifteen-mile-long scenic fairyland. Fourteen miles below Flagstaff is the Lookout of Oak Creek Canyon and from there the paved highway winds down over a series of switchbacks to the floor of the canyon hundreds of feet below. Coming out of the canyon at Sedona, the spectacular red rocks in the distance, shading from buff at their base to orange and red at the tips, is another Heaven and Earth combined to form Meteor Crater in Coconino county, not far from U. S. Highway 66.

Part of the great Painted Desert of Arizona sweeps through Coconino county, lending a touch of mystery and distance and unreality to the landscape. The Desert flows on for miles, a shimmering paint box in the bright sunlight.

Wide roads to speed your way. Safe roads to give you a pleasant journey. Each road is a temptation, every turn is an adventure. Such are the highways that lead you through the area of travel pleasure known as Coconino County of Arizona.