“I approve of your taking the train from here to Gallup and then trail into the Zuñi Reservation, and, perhaps, go into the Gila River country with me,” said Mr. Burt.
“No, and we’ll explain why,” said Mrs. Vernon. “We must now limit our visit in Arizona to one month. In that time we must trail over the Painted Desert in Navajo Land, visit the Petrified Forests, do the Grand Cañon, and come out at the Hualapai Indian Reservation. We expect to take the train to Prescott Junction and there change to the Prescott and Central Arizona railroad in order to connect with the Southern Pacific trains later on. But we hope to secure stop-over privileges on the tickets to enable us to visit the Salt River Indian as well as the Gila Indian Reservations, then we plan to follow the Apache Trail and visit Roosevelt Dam, thence go down to Tucson and so home.”
“But why such a criss-cross trip to get back to the East? Why not go on the short route, the same as when you came out?” wondered the newspaper man.
“Because we wish to take the Sunset Route as far as Houston, Texas, and there go to Galveston, where we hope to get a steamer to New York. It would be an ideal ending of an ideal summer trail.”
“Would it! Well, I should say,” declared Mr. Burt, emphatically. “Only wish I was a Girl Scout of Dandelion Troop.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AT ST. MICHAEL’S MISSION
The scout-party preferred a local train from Laguna to Gallup, as that would give them more time to see the small towns they passed through, as well as the San Mateo and Zuñi Mountains.
At the last moment, Mr. Burt decided to remain on the train with them and stop at Gallup. From there the scouts would go northwest into Arizona, and he would go south to the Zuñi Indian Reservation.
It was the conductor on the train, who was a very sociable man, who advised the scouts to be sure and visit the Cañon de Chelly and the White House, which is a prehistoric dwelling carved in the rock walls high above the stream. The White House is a wonderful palace ten times the size of the White House at Washington.