Painted Desert and Petrified Forest

I’m posting this one a little late.  I’ve had a hard time getting my entries to the blog because in the car, I can compose for only about half an hour before the laptop dies (need a power inverter!!), and once we get in the campsite with access to power and WiFi, we’re either having dinner, setting up, doing laundry, or relaxing (wow, imagine that!), and the few times when I might have been able to post, Claire had the laptop to Skype with Noah.  We DO have our priorities in place, after all. 

Anyway, this next entry was written in the car, the day before we went to the Grand Canyon.  This day was my favorite so far.  I’ll write about the Grand Canyon in another post.  

June 16, 2012

We’re traveling from Albuquerque, NM to Kingman, AZ today.  We’ll stay two days in Kingman, and visit the Grand Canyon tomorrow, on Father’s Day and Eric’s 13^th birthday.  What a way to celebrate!  It is 1 hour and 40 minutes from our campground to the Grand Canyon Skywalk.  Ray and I are both a little apprehensive about this glass-bottomed walk over the canyon, but we’ll make it, I’m sure. 

Today, we have seen the terrain change dramatically.  Big, black rocks, sticking up out of the earth, appearing to have been burned and partially melted, were mixed in along the roadside.  What would cause such a thing?  They were everywhere for a while.  Huge mountains rose up in the distance, and eventually we were able to see the spiky little trees along the flat tops of the mesas, looking very much like the flattop haircut of a strong and proud Marine, gazing out over the country.  

After a while, we were marveling at beautiful oranges, yellows, and rusty maroons in horizontal streaks along the sides of the mountains, artfully placed above the fields of gold and green.  The brown highway sign for the Petrified Forest National Park caught my attention and my imagination, and soon I was convincing Ray that this was the perfect place for our picnic lunch.  Yes, it would take us a little out of the way, and yes, it would add about an hour to our day (maybe an hour and a half, I thought to myself), but we could afford to be spontaneous every once in a while.  How exciting!  We paid the $10 park fee and embarked on the 28 mile winding road, which led from Highway 40 south, from the Painted Desert National Park to the Petrified Forest.  The first scenic overlook wasn’t too far and we stopped for pictures. 

The view of the Painted Desert was breathtaking.   The rolling sands, the mountain sides streaked with colors, the vast expanse…  It literally brought me to tears.  The moment was soon broken when Ray looked at me and said, “Are you crying?” and Claire started laughing at me, and then we were all laughing.  I know, call me goofy, I don’t care.  I’m sure I’m not the first person to be moved by the sight. 
 

We walked down to a lower outcropped observation level with a low stone wall.  After fiddling with the camera, I looked up to see Eric standing on the wall, which startled and scared me so much that I let out a loud, quick “Aaaa!”  Claire immediately pointed out that there was a natural shelf that extended out about 20 feet out, and only 1 foot down.   The kids and the other tourists got a kick out of that one, too.  I guess I’m the entertainment for the day!  

We stopped at a few more overlooks and had lunch at a beautiful picnic area that had shade pavilions.  We drained the cooler of the melted ice, and the water evaporated in minutes. 

We continued on the trail, which crossed over Historic Route 66.  Then, we entered the Petrified Forest (why so scared?).  It wasn’t really a forest anymore, but there were plenty of trees that were fallen and broken, hard as rock, some still sticking out of the rocks that had overtaken them a millennium ago. 

The whole trail was amazing.  Rocks and bluffs, formations they call The Tepees, awesome variations of colors.  Definitely worth the two and a half hours it set us back. 

Yes, 2.5 hours.  Once we got back on I-40, Ray was able to calm down.  Just kidding, he actually took it pretty well, especially considering that he still hasn’t let go of the driving, and this would end up being a 9 hour drive day. 

Back on the highway, flat, open deserts with barely any greenery, were extending to either side of the highway for miles.  We wondered how the dry little bushes that dotted the landscape could survive the arid expanse.

Suddenly, there were huge boulders stacked upon one another, in big piles on either side of the highway.  They looked like they were part of a Giant’s game of Jenga, just waiting for someone to bump the landscape so they would come toppling down.  How do they balance like that? 

Then, we started seeing a few trees, then more trees, and signs telling us to watch out for elk and other wildlife.  Pretty soon, forests were clinging to the mountain sides, albeit still not as lush as we’re used to seeing along the Eastern coast.

This day has been a day to remember for us, and one that I will always cherish.  And to think, these sights weren’t even planned, just encountered along the way.