2 Best Sights in Northwestern New Mexico, New Mexico

Four Corners Monument

About 30 mi west of Shiprock you can reach the only place in the United States where you can stand in four states at the same time—at the intersection of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. Wide-open skies—broken occasionally by a distant mesa—surround the site, which was refurbished in 2010 on this very spot, refuting a flock of reports that the original 1912 marker for it might have been a few miles off. Native American artisans sell their wares here nearly every day of the year. Facilities include picnic tables and restrooms, but you must bring your own drinking water.

Window Rock Monument & Navajo Veteran's Memorial Park

Window Rock Monument & Navajo Veteran's Memorial Park, at the base of an immense, red-sandstone, natural arch—truly a window onto the Navajo landscape—is a compelling exhibit dedicated to all Navajo war veterans, but in particular to the Code Talkers of World War II. Designed in the shape of a sacred Medicine Wheel, the spiritual aspect of this profound memorial is apparent to all.