We woke up today feeling even worse than the day before. The
Alka Seltzer helps but can’t cure it all. Thankfully we had already planned for
a relatively short day. It was only about 40 miles to our first big stop, the
Petrified Forest. After getting delicious donuts at a local donut shop we went
on our way and made it to the park quickly. We stopped at the little visitor’s
center and headed into the park. The north side is actually “Painted Desert”,
with spectacular views of layers of colors. They have a historic building on
property too, an inn, that was pretty neat. It was built by the CCC in the 20s
and features a hand painted stained glass ceiling.
We kept driving through the park, mostly just looking out
the window (and feeling like crap) until we came to the Route 66 marker. They
have an old car out there:
You can see the telephone pole behind our heads; it runs
perpendicular to where we were standing and the road to the left.
We went on, stopping at some ruins and petroglyphs. At the
petroglyphs site we saw a couple WAY out in the middle of the field. When you
enter the park they give you a green card that says “DO NOT…” and it tells you
what you are not allowed to do and the fines associated with violating those
rules. They include DO NOT take any petrified would or artifacts, DO NOT get
off paved surfaces when paved surfaces are available, etc. Well these people
were off the paved surface, by a lot. The card also gives you a phone number to
call and report violators. We called and reported. We didn’t stick around to
see the action but I’m hoping they got a fine. I mean, they give you the rules
when you enter, and they are posted all over the place. Moving on…
While at the petroglyphs we also saw our first (of many)
ravens which was cool. We kept driving through the park, seeing more beautiful
color striated hills before doing a drive through of a large petrified forest
collection. One pull off had a log there:
We went further and stopped at another area full of logs
which was really cool. We ended the park trip by going to the visitors center
at the other end and looking at fossils. They had a big book there of letters
from visitors who had taken petrified pieces and wanted to return them. Aside
from being against the law, several ‘thieves’ claimed unending bad luck since
taking the pieces.
You can purchase petrified wood at lots of roadside stands.
These are pieces collected from private land. Petrified wood is made by trees
that have died and fallen into a river or stream bed that is rich in silica. A
lack of oxygen prevents them from decaying and the silica turns them into
stone. Volcanic ash is the source for the silica. They referenced that the many
trees downed in the Mt. St. Helens blast may one day become petrified if the
conditions remain right.
We pushed on down the road, stopping west of Winslow, AZ to
see the meteor crater. Again, super cool. This is on private land and costs a
little to get in but was worth it. When we got to the rim the wind had started
to pick up and really started to blow:
They have a nice little museum and the largest piece found
left of the crater:
Another thanks to one of my teachers, Jane, who told me
about this spot…it was SUPER cool. The meteor hit the earth about 50,000 years
ago at a speed of more than 46,000 mph. The entry into Earth and subsequent
impact destroyed most of the meteor; the largest piece of the 150 ft diameter
rock being displayed in the museum. To put value to the size, you could play 20
football games inside, simultaneously, while 2 million spectators sat on the
walls. If you ever go through the area it’s worth the one-hour stop. We checked
out their astronaut wall of fame before hitting the road towards Flagstaff, AZ.
We stopped for the night in Flagstaff, eating at an
authentic Mexican restaurant as recommended by those on Yelp. Unfortunately,
like the Stockyard Cafe, it was only so-so. We finished with a trip to
Coldstone Creamery before hitting the hay.
Today we traveled 200.5 miles across America for a total of
4,220.8 miles on leg 2 and a grand total of 14,745.5 miles across America.
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