Wagon Wheel Rest Area shows up on Google Maps as a “rest area”, shaded in green as if it might be some kind of park, or place where weary travelers can get in some shut eye.
But when Sash and I visited this place for an overnight stop, we found nothing more than several acres of undeveloped land with dirt trails.
While the Navajo Indian Reservation certainly tries its best to offer amenities for travelers and tourists with what limited financial resources it may have, it seems like could have at least spend a little dough grading this area level and making it easier to drive or tow an RV into.
Otherwise, there are two driveways into this “rest area”, one with a deep dip, making it unusable for trailers and long RVs, and the other fairly well rutted and bumpy, running the risk of dragging a trailer’s rear end on the ground.
The rest area itself is not level. Even the most level area, is still rather unlevel. You could put down leveling blocks if you wanted, but then again, why bother if you’re just here for the night?
Wagon Wheel Rest Area is somewhat quiet, despite the traffic along US-160. There is some trash lying around, but we’ve seen worse in other places. The town of Kayenta is only a mile away, with gas stations and fast food available. To the north is rather picturesque view of red rock formations.
Verizon 4G did not come in at all, however, there is pretty good 3G signal here. Even in the town of Kayenta, there is only 3G.
This little rest area felt “somewhat” safe. We were not bothered at all, nor did we encounter any people walking by or making loud noises. However, we noticed several local Navajo people slowing down in their cars to look at us as they drove by. As such, I would not feel safe leaving our trailer unattended for more than 30 minutes.
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