Skip to main content

2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 19; US Route 163 through Monument Valley

By
After completing Utah State Route 261 over the Moki Dugway I turned on US Route 163 headed south through Monument Valley towards Arizona.


This blog serves as Part 19 of the 2016 Mountain Trip Series, Part 18 can be found below:

2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 18; Utah State Route 261 over the Moki Dugway

US Route 163 is a 64 mile US Route running from US 191 in Bluff of San Juan County, Utah southward to Kayenta of Navajo County, Arizona.  The majority of US 163 is located within the Navajo Nation and is highly scenic with notable features being; Valley of the Gods, the Mexican Hat, San Juan River and most notably Monument Valley.  US 163 is part of the Trail of the Ancients National Scenic Byway.

US 163 is a relatively new US Route and a complete violation of the US Route numbering convention.  US 163 was plotted out over existing State Highways in 1970 when it ran from I-70/US 50/US 6 in Crescent Junction south to US 160 in Kayenta.  The route of US 163 was created from the following highways:

-  US 160 from Crescent Junction south to Monticello.
-  UT 47 to the Arizona State Line through Monument Valley.
-  AZ 464 from the Utah State line to Kayenta.

Interestingly UT 47 appears to have been maintained as a State Highway between Monticello and the Arizona State Line all the way back to 1910, although I'm not certain when it was first signed.  AZ 464 was first picked up as a State Highway in 1962 according arizonaroads.com.  The below map shows the route of UT 47 in 1950.

1950 Utah State Highway Map 

The stub about AZ 464 on arizonaroads.com can be found here:

arizonaroads.com on AZ 464

In 1983 US 163 had it's north terminus cut back to Monticello.  US 163 was further cut back to it's current north terminus in Bluff at US 191 in 1985.  Following the truncation of US 163 the State of Utah proposed extending it via what is now UT 162 and CO 41 but it was ultimately rejected.  More regarding the historic endpoints of US 163 can be found at USends.com.

USends.com on US 163

The majority of  my photos of US 163 were taken between 2013 to 2016.  In 2016 I didn't complete all of US 163 but started a couple miles from the north terminus at UT 261.  From the south terminus of UT 261 I turned south on US 163.



From the junction of US 163 and UT 261 the Valley of the Gods in addition to Cedar Mesa can seen directly to the north.





Traveling south on US 163 towards the community of Mexican Hat the namesake rock formation can be seen looking east towards the San Juan River.  The Mexican Hat is a sombrero shape rock formation that is 60x12 feet in dimension.


In Mexican Hat US 163 crosses over the 1953 San Juan River Bridge where it enters the Navajo Nation.  This photo below was from 2013.


After crossing the San Juan River the sandstone bluffs of Monument Valley are almost immediately apparent.  These photos date back to the winter of 2016 at Mile Marker 16.


Over the years I found that Mile Marker 13 was most likely the location that car magazines take pictures of Monument Valley.  This photo below dates back to 2015 when I clinched the entirety of US 163 for the second time.  Apparently Mile Marker 13 of US 163 is known as "Forest Gump Point" due to it being the location the final running scene of the movie was shot at.


Mile Marker 13 of Monument Valley is also the location of a Navajo Trading Post where there is a highly scenic overlook.  Monument Valley is a collection of weather sandstone buttes with the highest reaching over 1,000 feet in height.  Monument Valley has been the backdrop of all sorts of popular media since the 1930s and currently is part of the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.






When I was driving through Monument Valley in 2015 US 163 was being repaved.




In 2013 the bluffs of Monument Valley were covered in snow. 


There is a scenic view of Monument Valley even from the Arizona State Line on US 163.



Upon entering Arizona the path of US 163 southward ascends over a small pass before entering Kayenta where it has junction with Bureau of Indian Affairs Route 106.


US 163 ends at US 160 in Kayenta.  I turned west on US 160 towards the Grand Canyon.


Part 20 of this series covers US 160 in Arizona.

2016 Fall Mountain Trip Part 20; US Route 160 in Arizona



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Morgan Territory Road

By
Morgan Territory Road is an approximately 14.7-mile-long roadway mostly located in the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County, California.  The roadway is named after settler Jerimah Morgan who established a ranch in the Diablo Range in 1857.  Morgan Territory Road was one of several facilities constructed during the Gold Rush era to serve the ranch holdings.   The East Bay Regional Park District would acquire 930 acres of Morgan Territory in 1975 in an effort to establish a preserve east of Mount Diablo. The preserve has since been expanded to 5,324 acres. The preserve functionally stunts the development along roadway allowing it to remain surprisingly primitive in a major urban area. Part 1; the history of Morgan Territory Road During the period of early period of American Statehood much of the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County was sparsely developed.   Jerimah Morgan acquired 2,000 acres of land east of Mount Diablo in 1856 and established a ranch in 1857. Morgan Territory Road is
2 comments
Read more

Interstate 210 the Foothill Freeway

By
The combined Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor of the Foothill Freeway is approximately 85.31-miles.  The Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor begins at Interstate 5 at the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and travels east to Interstate 10 in Redlands of San Bernardino County.  Interstate 210 is presently signed on the 44.9-mile segment of the Foothill Freeway between Interstate 5 and California State Route 57.  California State Route 210 makes up the remaining 40.41 miles of the Foothill Freeway east to Interstate 10.  Interstate 210 is still classified by the Federal Highway Administration as existing on what is now signed as California State Route 57 from San Dimas south to Interstate 10.  The focus of this blog will mostly be on the history of Interstate 210 segment of the Foothill Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Interstate 210 and California State Route 210 Interstate 210 (I-210) was approved as a chargeable Interstate during September of
Post a Comment
Read more

Clovis "Gateway To The Sierras" sign and Tarpey Depot

By
Within Oldtown Clovis a fixture of the original alignment of California State Route 168 can be found in the form of the  "Clovis Gateway To The Sierras" sign. The sign was erected along Clovis Avenue in 1940 and was in use along California State Route 168 until the highway was relocated circa 1999-2001. Nearby Tarpey Deport can be found at the northeast corner of Clovis Avenue and 4th Street. The depot was constructed in 1892 as part of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad between Fresno and Friant. The depot structure was one previously located at the southeast corner of Clovis Avenue and Ashlan Avenue. Part 1; the history of the Gateway To The Sierras sign The "Clovis Gateway To The Sierras" sign located in Oldtown Clovis along Clovis Avenue between 4th Street and 5th Street. During 1933 Legislative Route Number 76 was extended with a second segment plotted between Huntington Lake and Fresno. The new segment passed through Oldtown Clovis westbound via Tollhouse R
1 comment
Read more