Ghost Town Tuesday; Gray Mountain, AZ

Back in 2015 I passed through the abandoned community of Gray Mountain in Coconino County, Arizona. Gray Mountain is located about 40 miles north of Flagstaff near the boundary of the Navajo Nation on US Route 89.

The first reference Gray Mountain that I could find was on the 1951 Arizona State Highway Map. Gray Mountain first appears as nothing but a trade post which is likely due to it's close proximity to the Navajo Nation.

1951 Arizona State Highway Map

The community of Gray Mountain seems to never have been much more than just a roadside tourist trap designed to profit off travelers to the Grand Canyon. All the buildings are oriented towards selling trinkets from the Navajo Nation or offering low brow lodging for the Grand Canyon. I vaguely recall the Anasazi Inn being in operation sometime around circa 2011-2012. The average review score was somewhere in the low 2s on Trip Advisory. Apparently you could stay at the Anasazi Inn for $19.99 during the end of it's run as an operational motel. Today there doesn't appear to be any activity in Gray Mountain as all the buildings have overgrown parking lots.

There is actually a hell of a view of the San Francisco Peaks looking southbound on US 89 from the abandoned buildings.

Comments

Unknown said…

I stayed in that hotel back in October 1989...I also ate at the trading post in the pics. It was a beautiful day. I was able to buy a 6 of Bud at the trading post and went up on the 2nd floor of the hotel to sit down and dispatch them as evening set in. I was the only one staying at the hotel...in fact I had to drive down to the place across the street from the Trading Post to pay for the room.

A great memory...

5:37 PM

gypsy said…

just drove through today September 26, 2023 was amazed at the beautiful painted desert artwork. Found there now.

4:16 PM

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991. Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73. Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there. But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio. Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively. Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards. Currently, a $274 million widening project in...

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit. Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301. This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history. But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount. When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by. Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s. That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain. Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot. The milkshakes. (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.) Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal! The fancy salad and hot foods bar. Going to Rax was special. Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight. By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog