One of the most surprising and rewarding things to find when traveling is a hidden monument or piece of art in a place you otherwise wouldn’t expect. Maybe you'll find an itty bitty chapel on the side of the road, a seasonal attraction inside a hotel, or a museum attached to a restaurant. It feels like a little secret, like something that can only be seen by people willing to put in the effort to explore the world around them. Today, we’re going to take a look at the Kayenta Burger King in Arizona, an unexpected place hiding a nice gem.

Kayenta is a town of about 5,500 residents on the Navajo Nation, just a few miles shy of the Utah border and the last Arizona town you’ll encounter before reaching Monument Valley.

Our little secret is located inside this building which looks pretty normal so far.

Walk inside and you’ll find a typical Burger King set up with seating, ordering area, and then...

You'll spot this! It's not every day you find a small museum display inside a fast food restaurant which makes this one of the most unique Burger Kinds around.

If you are not familiar with Navajo Code Talkers, here is a little historical background.

The code talkers were part of an encrypted communications tactic in the military and were instrumental in transmitting coded messages through little-known languages. The Navajo Code Talkers get the most press but a number of other Indigenous tribes participated in these during the first and second World Wars, such as the Choctaw, Comanche, and Hopi.

The little set up was created by restaurant owner, Richard Mike, whose father was a Navajo Code Talker during World War II.

In an article published by the Arizona Republic, Mike did not know his father was a code talker until he came across a postcard while moving some things around decades after the war.

It took some time to get his father, King Mike, to be open to talking about his experiences but this eventually led Mike to display some of the items in the Burger King. This also became a touching tribute when his father passed away in 1996.

While the display seems to be a decent size, it only represents a fraction of the items King Mike brought back home with him after the war and is a larger collection than what you'll find in actual museums!

You’ll find a collection of photos, postcards, documents, books, helmets, and plenty of other items.

The best part is that the display is open to the public and is free to see and is the first Navajo Code Talker display in Arizona.

Of course, it helps if you purchase something while at the restaurant but it’s pretty cool that a museum exhibit exists in such an ordinary place.

You can find the Navajo Code Talker Display in Arizona inside the Kayenta Burger King, located near the junction of Highways 160 and 163. See this map for the location.

If you want to see another unconventional museum display, then you’ll want to our article, Here Are 6 Museums In Arizona That Are Just Too Weird For Words, for ideas of some places around the state to visit!