Four Corners

Note: this is one of a series of posts that deal with topics covered before in the Blog, but now we have the pictures processed to prove it!

August 22, 2008
US-160 near Shiprock, NM

On our drive from Durango, Co, to Page, AZ, we passed the Four Corners Monument. We'd stopped there before, years ago on our first "RV Rental Vacation", but figured we'd stop again since we were passing by. This made an especially good "rest stop" since it's truly in the middle of nowhere. US-160 cuts across the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico, and the access road to the Monument is just under ½ mile.

We found that the only thing changed in the 15 or so years since we’ve been here is a toll booth! They now charge $3 a head to get in. Since this monument is on Navajo land that borders several other tribes, hopefully the money stays “on the rez”. Anyway, in addition to the state and tribal flags and a small viewing stand, there’s a survey marker surrounded by a concrete pad with the state lines etched into it, and a plaque of each state’s seal included. Can you name all four states?* Extra points: do you know when this designation could possible have been effective?**

In addition to the Monument, there are two dirt parking lots and a series of wooden sheds where locals sell handmade jewelry and “Indian Fry Bread” (“fried dough” to those of us from the Northeast). Other than that, there’s nothing for miles around. I tried to cobble together a panoramic picture of the area. Even though I left a filter on the lens that screwed up the tonal elements, I posted it anyway to give a sense of the area.
* New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona

** New Mexico and Arizona, the 47th and 48th states, were admitted in January and February, respectively, of 1912. For those of us who grew up in the Northeast, it’s sometimes strange that everything doesn’t date from 1776!

Final question in the trivia trail: Which of the states in the Northeast was not one of the original 13? Email me with answers.