GETTING
AWAY
The Blue House
The Blue House Restaurant may
not look like much because, well, it’s not much.
But if 
you want authentic Navajo food and an
authentic Navajo experience, a short side trip
on the way to Kayenta is well worth the time.
Owner Sarah Mitchell is both a fixture and a
savior for the hundreds of hungry Navajo coal
miners who trek in and out of the Peabody Coal
Mine every day. On the day we stopped by, I had
mutton and beans wrapped inside Navajo fry bread,
which instantly warmed up a rather chilly morning.
I could tell that Sarah doesn’t get many customers
who don’t like onions, but she was more than
accommodating.
The Navajo reservation covers a vast 27,000 square
miles across the four corners area into both
New Mexico and Utah. It’s one of the most beautiful
places you can visit, especially along Lake Powell
and Monument Valley. Finding a small hideaway
like the Blue House Restaurant isn’t so easy
— unless someone takes you there.
Our guides were from the Salt River Project power
plant in Page, who were accompanying us on a
story about the giant electric coal train that
runs daily between Page and just west of Kayenta.
That train is a fixture along Highway 180 for
travelers visiting the reservation, or just passing
through on the way to Colorado. We not only got
to ride the train, but were treated to lunch
and the company of a very nice lady.
As soon as we approached the window, Sarah made
us feel welcome by blurting out “Good Morning
Arizona!” and immediately calling her husband
on a two-way radio to say, “Guess who’s standing
in front of me?”
The restaurant is only ten minutes off the main
highway, and well worth the stop. So, last December,
en route to Colorado on a family trip, I stopped
by to see Sarah. Her little hut was surrounded
by a foot of snow and a very cold wind. She greeted
me warmly, and asked for my lunch order. I think
I hurt her feelings when I explained that we
had already eaten in Flagstaff. Another good
reason to go hungry when visiting Blue House
Restaurant.
Dan Davis spent 32 years as a television
reporter, traveling the state and meeting interesting
people in out-of-the-way places. This is the
first in a series of stories about those adventures
that he will be sharing with Highroads readers.
Photo by Dan Davis
If you go:
The Blue House Restaurant is about 20 miles west
of Kayenta. Travel south on the Peabody Coal
access road off of Highway 180. The restaurant
is about two miles down the access road.
