Back Road Adventure

Dramatic Scenery Leads the Way to the Splendid White Mesa Arch

Robert Vreeland was his name; arches were his game. No, not his game, his passion. I interviewed Vreeland in 1986 because he was the first person I'd ever encountered who spent almost all his waking hours thinking about, traveling to, photographing, measuring, and minutely describing every natural arch in the United States. Vreeland, who lived in Phoenix, was an aeronautical engineer, but he retired early because work kept interfering with his need to go out and look for arches. I wrote a feature about him for a newspaper, but I never felt like I understood his obsession. Now I know the reason: I hadn't traveled to enough natural arches. After my latest excursion this one in search of White Mesa Arch on the Navajo Indian Reservation I think I know what captivated Vreeland. A natural arch sculpted from sandstone is a beautiful sight when you finally get close to it but a large part of the appeal of this one is simply getting to the anomaly after the prelude of dramatic red buttes and sheer cliffs lined with jade-colored bushes and stone sentinels turned purple in the evening light. Then, too, there are the chance encounters, like the one I had with an old Navajo tending his sheep from the saddle on his five-year-old mare. He didn't speak much English, but three things he could say clearly: "No rain, no grass," and "window rock out there." People tend to call every natural arch and natural bridge a "window rock." Window Rock also happens to be the name of the town where the Navajo Nation has its headquarters, and just behind the headquarters there is a sandstone arch. Sticklers for accuracy usually define an arch as a span of rock that traverses dry land and has been formed by wind. A bridge is a rock span that's been formed by water. Rainbow Bridge at Lake Powell is probably the most famous example of a water-formed natural bridge in these parts. White Mesa Arch is an arch and not a bridge, but it turns up on maps both ways. It's at the southeast end of White Mesa and is formed of Dakota sandstone, a material that is about 130 million years old, give or take a few years. Getting to it is relatively easy, though photographer David Smith and I made two or three stabs from the wrong direction before we realized we were making life unnecessarily difficult for ourselves. The best way to make this excursion is to drive to Flagstaff, two hours-plus north of Phoenix, the night before you plan to head out to the reservation. The next morning get up early, fill a gallon jug of water for your trip, and have yourself an enormous breakfast. Then drive 70 miles north on U.S. Route 89 to the cutoff for Tuba City (not named for the brass instrument but for an Indian chief whose name, in the mouth of non-Indians, came out sounding like "Tuba"). Tuba City is on U.S. Route 160, 11 miles northeast of the intersection of U.S. 89, and Tonalea is 22 miles northeast of Tuba. If you look north from Tonalea or Red Lake (they're practically together), you can see White Mesa in the distance. The most remarkable thing about this mesa is that it lives up to its name. It was the last thing I expected. Before I left for this trip I thought: mesas, Navajo reservation, sandstone. Yeah, this will be deep red, maybe streaked with bands of iron oxide, the sort of thing commonly seen in the Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly. Wrong. White Mesa is a whitewalled, flat-topped mass of sandstone, 6,800 feet high at its loftiest point, with a band (from a distance) of aquamarine vegetation (undoubtedly abundant clumps of sage) hugging the base of the cliffs. That is early in the morning; later in the day, the colors change. It's picture-postcard country. White Mesa Arch is slightly visible from U.S. 160, and no wonder. It's huge. Vreeland used an optical tape measure and reported that the arch has a span of 53 feet, a height of 84 feet, a thickness of 73 feet, and a width of about 40 feet. Fortunately, you can get a lot closer to it than Tonalea (walk right

Up to it if you feel like hiking). From the general store at Red Lake/Tonalea, continue 6.2 miles northeast on U.S.

160 to Navajo Route 16, the Rainbow Trail. Turn north onto Navajo 16, an unpaved but well-graded road, go through the tunnel (which goes under the railroad tracks), and bear left onto Navajo 6270, another good dirt road. It is 16.1 miles from the junction of U.S. 160 and Navajo 16 to a narrow dirt track that leads to the arch. Long before you get near the arch, it is visible in the distance.

the arch is visible in front of you, but you'll have to hike a mile or two to get to it.

Keep in mind there are various narrow dirt tracks in the area, and it is easy to get confused. However, White Mesa itself is unmistakable, and the arch can clearly be seen from a couple of different vantage points. With some exploring, you can get to it from other routes, specifically, from one on the other side of the arch, which takes you closer. But none of the roads are marked, so the excursion can become a frustrating trial and error proposition.

Assuming you found the narrow dirt road that leads off 6270 to the arch, you can return to U.S. 160 the same way you came, or you can make a pleasant loop drive by proceeding through the cattle guard just north of the dirt track (the road forms a Tat that point) and turning left onto Navajo 6260, which will take you west to 21. Turn south, or left, again on the wide dirt road, and you will be heading back down to U.S. 160. Colorado River. Ask for permission to see the gallery lo-cated in the well-preserved building just east of the trad-ing post and restaurant. The gallery exhibits magnificent Navajo and Hopi antiques: rugs, baskets, jewelry, head-dresses, sand paintings, and more.

TIPS FOR TRAVELERS

Back road travel can be hazardous if you are not prepared for emergencies. Be aware of weather and road conditions, and make sure you and your vehicle are in top shape and you have plenty of water. Don't travel alone, and let someone at home know where you're going and when you plan to return. Odometer readings in story may vary by automobile. For more information, call the Navajoland Tourism Office, (520) 871-6659.