What adventuresome lad or lass hasn’t dreamed of sleeping Indian-style in a wickiup under the stars way out West? Here’s your chance: a whole village of wigwams (actually, tepees: a wigwam is arched or oval, without a point) available at reasonable rates, with color TV and ample parking.
What a fantastic roadside vision they are, especially in the evening when the white concrete cones flow like ghost of old Route 66 against the Arizona sky. Each tepee is a single unit with a quartet of lifelike lodge poles stickling up from the spire like a kewpie doll top knot. There are concrete flaps around each door (which is made of wood); inside, in lieu of a fire pit on the floor, there are individual heating controls, and a nice new air conditioner in every unit. Opened by Chester E. Lewis in 1950, this highway landmark followed a design originally patented in Kentucky in 1936; five years ago it was completely renovated. The office now contains a Wigwam museum, gift shop, and petrified wood display neat the registration desk.
