Thursday, May 11, 2017

A Petrified Day of Driving

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After ALL we have been through…Tornado in NE Arkansas, high winds, rain, hail through other parts between here and there…so today we had to have the most Petrifying Drive of all times….


Petrified Forest National Park

Yes indeed, after driving by it so many times, finally drove through the Petrified Forest National Park.

Arizona - New Mexico Border on I-40
Arizona - New Mexico Border on I-40     Arizona - New Mexico Border on I-40

Actually, we did have some slushy snow, but no heavy rains, and light winds.  And we had to cross through one of my favorite borders…Arizona-New Mexico I-40 border where the mountains are wonderful, and you get to see all the trinket shops that you don’t dare let your wife wander into.  The top picture of the three pictures above actually has some teepees along the ridge, you can just see the white dots left-center.


 Petrified Forest National Park      Petrified Forest National Park

Coming in on the northern side of the park off I-40, it was a bit rainy, so the Painted Desert was more like a sopping desert…but still full of color.

 Petrified Forest National Park      Petrified Forest National Park 

 Petrified Forest National Park

The road loops around, then heads south, under the Interstate.  Another 3-4 miles and you come to what they call the “teepees” (pictured above).

 Petrified Forest National Park

On the road leading to Blue Mesa, there are some interesting rock formations.

 Petrified Forest National Park      Petrified Forest National Park 

 Petrified Forest National Park

It is on the mesa that we find the first Petrified Logs.

 Petrified Forest National Park      Petrified Forest National Park

Looking down to the east from the mesa you can see area where the Petrified Logs have landed after falling from the higher points where the high water had left them many years ago.  Eventually the rains and storms wash away the land under them, and they break and fall to the floor below.

 Petrified Forest National Park      Petrified Forest National Park 

 Petrified Forest National Park

The views from the mesa are wonderful (as shown above and below), despite the light rain and overcast skies.

 Petrified Forest National Park

Before exiting the Mesa, I had to take this panoramic shot (above) looking out to the west.  The storm was headed towards us again…time to get.

 Petrified Forest National Park

We both agreed that we need to drive back through when the sun is out, when it is warmer (but not hot), and when we can do the “log walk” at the south end of the park.

I-40 headed to Winslow Arizona

We exited the park at the south end and headed northwest on highway 180, bypassing the $10 per night, electric only, RV camp at the non-park gift shop as you exit the park.  There is no overnight anything in the park except for tent hikers by permit only.  We drove up to I-40, then headed to Winslow Arizona, where we stood on the corner for awhile, but no flat bed Ford drove by, and if one did with a woman in it, Marcia would have killed me.  (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trNW-GAClUM for you non-Eagles fans)

Homolovi State Park

In reality we are just northeast of Winslow in the Homolovi State Park, where for $25 we have water, keeping warm with electricity (it will be 41 tonight), and it is so very quiet...no storms, no wind, no car noises, it is so nice with only the occasional faint noise of train far off in the distance.  Had a long talk with the camp host Dave, who worked for the railroad out of southern Missouri…one heck of a nice guy.  And this sunset was so nice to see outside my window as we ate dinner.

10 comments:

  1. We had a blast in the petrified forest looking for geocaches. What an amazing place! Beautiful pics in spite of the weather.

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    1. Thanks Nancy, Marcia took many of the pictures, she did a wonderful job.

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  2. Your pictures still turned out great even with the cloud cover. We'll try to visit the Petrified Forest but will have to do it during the colder temperatures.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  3. We did this trip in March and had beautiful weather. I was a little worried about it being too early, but we hit it during the areas warm spell. The Petrified Forest was beyond amazing! The wood is sooo beautiful. We also stayed in Homolovi SP. We were doing a 25 day tour of the all the Indian ruins in northern AZ and NM. Hitting the out the way locations. I spend hours in the Homolovi ruins looking at all the pottery sherds. I've never seen so many pieces with such beautiful designs. Yes, you need to return when the sun is shining:)

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    Replies
    1. We are also going to return to Homolovi State Park...it was super nice, and next time we will include time for the ruins there.

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  4. Sometimes the rainy day pictures are just as pretty as the sunny day days, just a different atmosphere.

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  5. We drove thru a few years back. Attempted again in Feb 2016 but as we just got through the entrance, the truck made a terrible noise. Couldn't chance driving further..... good choice. Front brake pads needed replacing, front rotors had heat cracks and front caliper pistons falling apart. So after dropping $945...... we got on our way. But no time for Petrified Forest. Nice drive though, isn't it?

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    Replies
    1. I can't believe how many times I have driven right by on I-40 and NEVER took the time to visit the park.

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