Petrified Forest National Park/ Painted Desert

OK, I know we said that Mesa Verde was our last national park for this trip. However, when we realized that I-40, the route we were taking to Mesa Verde, went right through Petrified Forest, we had to stop and visit.

First, however, our drive took us through Winslow, Arizona. Sound familiar to any of you Boomers out there? "Standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona" was made famous by the Eagles back in the 70's. We stopped there for coffee and a t-shirt, than took a few shots of the statue placed there to commemorate the song. The town is on the historic Rt 66, but appears to have been left behind when I-40 was built.

Back to Petrified Forest- petrified wood was formed when trees were buried, many years ago, by silt, volcanic ash, and mud. The lack of oxygen kept the trees from decaying, and the silica in the water seeped into the tree tissue, which eventually crystallized into quartz. Different minerals added colors- yellow, red, blue, brown, pink- which can be very beautiful. I had been here many years ago and confess I was not terribly impressed. However, learning more about the process and really LOOKING at the wood was a new experience. Dale was very surprised at the quantity of wood lying around. The ranger indicated that only a very small number of the trees that died in the then-tropical forest actually went through the petrification process, but it was still impressive. Dale was so impressed that we drove back west by several miles to purchase a piece of wood for our yard, so Sun City folks can check it out when we return. (Many pieces are stolen from the park every year. The fines for doing so are pretty high, rightfully so. It is not very expensive to legally purchase even a large piece, so it is difficult to understand the thieves...) In addition to petrified wood, many fossils have been found in the area.

The other part of the park was the Painted Desert. This area consists of mounds of sandstone, layered with different colors of soil, depending on the minerals in the soil. As a whole, the mounds are quite beautiful with the layers of purple, red, grays, and blues.

Four hours later, we headed on our way to Colorado and Mesa Verde.

Flagstaff/Sedona

We arrived in Flagstaff, planning on touring the town. After our stop at the Visitor Center, we decided to tour the local Arboretum so we could learn more about the local plants. They also had a raptor show, which was really good. They had several hawks, a Cara Cara, and an owl. They also had a very talented crow who helped with "fund-raising" to support his fellow bird friends. He would accept bills in any denomination and deposit them in a jar. Apparently, he also takes credit cards, but prefers to destroy them rather than give them back!

We headed for Sedona after the show, where we were booked at our timeshare for 4 days. Sedona itself is just beautiful- red cliffs every place you look. I fell in love with the pueblo-style homes in colors that blended perfectly with the cliffs. We learned later that the town only allows those colors on any new buildings in the area. The downtown area has lots of galleries, restaurants and shops. We did several driving tours- scenic loops through the red rocks, a drive to Jerome, an old mining town. Again, galleries and shops on steep streets with a view of the valley below. We were disappointed that the state park, which displayed information on the mining aspect, was closed due to budget cuts.

We felt it was time to try out our golf clubs again, so headed to a course recommended to us at the timeshare. What a beautiful spot! Again, the cliffs surrounded the course, so spectacular views were everywhere. (We've included a few shots of the course- drool on, golfing fans!)

The last day in Sedona we decided to take a Pink Jeep tour to an ancient Indian site. Our guide Jason (an Eagle Scout) was very knowledgeable. I'm not sure what we expected, but he took us on rugged dirt roads out to a site of old dwellings built under the overhangs of the cliffs more than 700 years ago. Remnants of walls were still intact. Old petroglyphs and rock carvings were visible on the cliff walls. It is an active archaeological site- the tour company actually participates in the preservation of the area. Fascinating!

We spent the afternoon back in Flagstaff walking around the town and touring the Riordan Mansion. The mansion is an arts and crafts style home built around the turn of the century by two brothers who married two sisters. The house is actually two 6000 square foot homes joined in the center by a central room used for family gatherings. All the original furniture is present. The house had some very innovative ideas for its time- all electric lighting (including one room that had indirect lighting), and an interesting cooling system that made use of natural air flow. Well worth touring!

We leave tomorrow for Cortez, CO, where we will visit our final National Park of the trip- Mesa Verde. From there, it is on to Grand Junction to visit my sister for a few days before heading back to New England. We have begun to plan a route, and I have to admit, it is a strange feeling to have the end of the trip in view. However- not over yet! More after visiting Mesa Verde.

Grand Canyon- South Rim

We arrived at the South Rim of Grand Canyon via Rt 64, the East entrance. Our first stop was at the Watchtower overlook. The Watchtower is a 70 foot stone tower built in 1932. Its purpose was to provide an unobstructed view of the canyon. An Indian artist painted murals on the interior walls depicting Hopi legends- some were really beautiful. The view from the top was great, and the stairs tested our bodies' adjustment to high elevations (still puffing!).

Leaving the Watchtower, we continued on the Desert View drive, as the east end is known, and stopped at several other overviews, each with its own breathtaking angle on the canyon. We did our usual stop at the Visitor Center once we reached the South entrance, which is the most used entrance in the park. We did not find this person very helpful, a first in our travels. He did advise us to view the west end of the canyon, which can only be reached by shuttle, for the best views of the Colorado River.

The next day, we did as advised and took the Hermits Rest shuttle to view the west end. The shuttle was pretty easy to use, but time consuming. We made several stops, starting with Maricopa Point, where the park service is replanting native vegetation that has been destroyed by foot traffic in the past. After looking at the view and trying to pick out the Lodge at the North Rim, we walked to the next shuttle point for some exercise. The Colorado River was becoming more and more dominant in the view as we moved west.

Our next (and last) stop was Pima Point, where the murky green river wound its way between the rock formations. We had a nice conversation with two rangers about the Condor program. The California Condor was native to the area up until the climate became hotter and drier. By the time the European settlers arrived in the area, they were found only on the California coast. They are the largest and rarest bird in North America- 7 foot wingspan! Only 22 Condors remained by the early 1980's. There is a program to breed condors in captivity, than release them back in the wild. The 2 locations chosen were central California and Northern Arizona in the Grand Canyon. The program has been pretty successful, in that they are now breeding in the wild. They pointed out where the Condors are nesting in the canyon wall and described how to recognize them in flight. Unfortunately, we were not able to spot any.

After a beautiful day at the "Big Ditch" (as Dale describes it), we headed back to our hotel in Williams. Williams is a cute little town. The historic Route 66 runs through the downtown area. We decided to take the next day off to play a local golf course (which was very nice and in great condition), use the pool, and generally take it easy. Our next stop is the Flagstaff/Sedona area.

North Rim to South Rim- Scenic Drive

I know we don't usually do a special blog for scenic drives- there have been so many of them- but this one was spectacular. We took 89-A south from the North Rim past huge red cliffs, and traveled through towns called Vermilion Cliffs, Cliff Dwellers and Marble Canyon. The colors in the cliffs ranged from predominantly red to yellow, chocolate brown, pink, coral, green, blue- you name it, the color was there.

In the town of Cliff Dwellers, we stopped to take a few pictures of huge red-brown rocks balanced on each other. There were also remains of small huts made from the surrounding stones. It was amazing to think of living in this barren, yet spectacularly beautiful land.

After leaving the red cliff area, the terrain morphed into soft mounds of chocolate, cream, and gray sand. There were tracks in the mounds of what we assumed to be ATV's- pretty popular out here. We had our first real view of the Colorado River, source of the whole Grand Canyon. The color was strange, kind of a murky green. We later learned the word Colorado means "reddish", which is the color the river should be. Dams upstream catch much of the red silt that gives the river its name, so the color now varies depending on mineral content and rain.

We also passed the Little Colorado River, which has cut a canyon of its own. It is currently dry, but locals tell us that is not unusual at this time of year.

We entered the South Rim on Rt 64 through the east entrance. More on that later.

Grand Canyon- North Rim

The Grand Canyon, one of the "big ones", and certainly one of Dale's "must see's". I had been here before, a couple of "drive-bys" many years ago. I wanted to see it a little differently this time. We had decided we would like to see the North Rim, as it is much less commercial and has a lot fewer visitors. Thanks to our tour guide/bartender in Zion, we called the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim on the off chance we could get in. We lucked out and got the last Frontier Cabin available for the night.

We left Zion and traveled south to the North Rim through red cliffs and small, old fashioned towns. The road into the North Rim itself was through huge meadows and forests of pine and aspen, their leaves shivering in the wind. We had lunch at the edge of the canyon, Dale's first view. The Lodge was wonderful- rebuilt in the early '30's after a fire, it is a log and stone structure that is typical of that era. In addition to the lodge, there was a deli, gift shop (of course), visitor center, saloon and restaurant. The lodge itself had 2 large sun decks overlooking the canyon- just spectacular! We made sure we were there for the sunset. As a nice surprise, we received a call from Paul and Gwen while we were there enjoying the view.

We were advised to take the scenic drive up to Point Imperial, the highest elevation in the park at 8803 feet, and a panoramic view of the canyon. The canyon is just immense-277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and 1 mile deep! It is impossible to take it all in, but you still try. The colors are spectacular, the rock formations are all so different, and it goes on forever. We continued on to Roosevelt Point (named after you know who) where we decided to return to the lodge. It was very smoky in this area, and burned areas were still warm. They have been "managing" a lightning fire in that area since the 1st of August- the smoke has impacted the normally clear views.

As far as the fauna of this area, we saw wild turkeys, several mule deer (including a mother and fawn), and lots of birds. Birds were more plentiful in this area than any other park we have visited. Ravens are present here in large numbers, and are part of the culture of the North Rim. When in the Visitor Center, a gentleman working there told us a story about ravens that he had been told by a ranger who was an expert on this bird (and who he felt looked very much like his subject...). Ravens are the most intelligent bird in the world. These birds also mate for life. The ranger told the story of a mated pair of ravens who "hunted" together. The parks used to have the type of rubbish barrel with the dome top and the flapper that pushed open to dispose of trash. The female raven would push open the flapper with her wing, allowing the male to fly into the barrel. She would then fly to a nearby tree to keep watch. Soon, the male would begin to peck on the inside of the barrel, signaling the female to fly down, open the flapper with her wing to let the male out. They would then both enjoy the leftovers found by the male. Talk about trust- one of the keys to mating for life!

The next morning, after sleeping in our little, very basic, cabin, we did a couple of short walks and headed off to the South Rim, knowing we would find a very different setting with a very different feel- back from the '30's, and into the 21st century!

Bryce Canyon National Park

We drove through the eastern part of Zion to reach the road to Bryce Canyon. The drive was very pretty, through small farms, meadows and a lovely river that followed us for miles. 1 1/2 hours later, we arrived at Bryce. After stopping in the Visitor Center and viewing the film on Bryce, we decided to use the shuttle instead of driving. The shuttle system was not as sophisticated as at Zion, but it worked fine. We were surprised to see nothing but trees and grass from the shuttle. The canyon is hidden until you walk out to the view points.

We stopped first at Bryce Point, the most distant shuttle point, where the ranger had told us of a nice rim walk. As we reached the viewpoint, we were awe-struck! This point overlooks the Amphitheatre, one of the most beautiful sites in the park. This bowl-shaped area is filled with Hoodoos. Hoodoos are pillars of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion. The other meaning for Hoodoo is to cast a spell- which these certainly do! It was amazing to see them lined up in rows, looking very much like the China Terracotta Army.

As we walked along the rim trail, the views just got better and better. In addition to the Hoodoos, there were windows and arches, all as a result of erosion. The colors were amazing, ranging from orange, to pink to cream. This is just an amazing, beautiful park.

After stopping at Sunrise Point, we had a late lunch and headed back to Springdale for the night. We would head for the Grand Canyon tomorrow.

Seen in a restaurant outside of Yosemite: "Wishing you shade and sweetwater"- a perfect wish for the dry, hot, Southwest.