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Trip Date: September 9, 2017

I’m getting so behind on my blogging: working, traveling and having fun result in a back log of posts. Today, I’m going back to our late summer road trip to the Southwest and California. When we last left our intrepid travelers they had just left the awe-inspiring Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado.

As I’ve probably said before: if we are within 200 miles of Winslow, Arizona we will go spend the night at the La Posada Hotel. WAIT! Don’t tune out yet – I can hear you thinking “what? trains AGAIN?” – no not this time. Stick with me a moment.

We headed south through the Navajo reservation in far northwest New Mexico until we turn west on to the super slab (I40) in Gallup for the quick journey to my mom’s hometown of Winslow. Very nearly always when I blog about Winslow I provide lots of train photos. Not today; instead, I want to try to provide an insight into this beautiful hotel. It was designed by Mary Colter – who also designed a hotel and other buildings at the Grand Canyon – and built in 1930. She wanted to make the hotel feel like a Spanish land owner’s hacienda. It is built of thick adobe with wide hallways and multiple gathering rooms. It was also designed to maximize air flow to keep the building cool in pre-air conditioning days. The building has been restored beautifully by the artist Tina Mion and her husband Allan Affeldt.

Here are a couple of photos of the front of the hotel from earlier trips.

And here is one of the back lawn.

Yes, I did go out to watch trains while Carla strolled the hallways. She took some panoramas. In the top image you can see some of Tina Mion’s artwork. She has painted many of the president’s and first ladies with each holding a playing card. You can wee on on the left side of the picture.

Part of the hallways and open spaces inside the building

Outside there are various patios with cool seating.

The rooms are well appointed and comfortable. And there isn’t a lot of train noise to keep you awake at night. Trains headed west are coasting to the crew change point on the west end of Winslow. Trains heading east are gathering speed but horns are silent (for the most part – sometimes a playful engineer will give a quick toot if a person trackside gives a wave)

And the cherry on top of the hotel sundae is The Turquoise Room – the hotel restaurant. In 2009 Condé Nast awarded it the second highest food rating for hotel restaurants. It is far and away the best restaurant I’ve eaten at in Arizona. If you go, make sure – make absolutely positive – you have a bowl of the black bean and sweet corn soup. The two thick soups are side-by-side in the bowl topped with a glorious “T” by some sort of sauce. Three words: DE LISH US!

The remodel is ongoing; there is something new to look at each visit. Currently they are working on remodeling the adjacent ATSF depot which is immediately east of the hotel.A few miles west of town – outside of Holbrook – you’ll find the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest.  If you find yourself in the southwest – maybe visiting The Grand Canyon – I urge you to add a night at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona.

For more of my posts on this beautiful landmark click this link which will take you to the search results on my blog.