We went to Petrified Forest in a gale--no rain, just constant wind 35-50 miles an hour with gusts to 68. Sand flying around so bad that it obscured the views. We need a very thorough shower, even had to get the sand out of our ears. We wanted to hike, but we nearly got blown off a ridge, hanging onto each other. Wind aside, this is an eerie place with the strange formations of soft sandstone, and then there are those logs scattered around. They look like they have been sawn into lengths—how can that be? The answer is that the logs have petrified into rock that crystallizes in 90 degree fractures—hence the straight cuts.
The Petrified Forest Inn is a delightful, old adobe building that is now a museum in the park.
Grand Canyon is everything you would expect from the biggest, most famous canyon in the world. I thought we came to the south to escape winter, but driving into Grand Canyon National Park we met a snowplow and had to watch out for the snowy patches on the road.
We hiked a bit, but the Bright Angel trail had so much packed snow, they were requiring ice crampons on your boots. So we stuck to the Rim Trail.
The canyon is nearly a mile deep and 10 miles across to the north rim. I don’t think we will get over there—the road is closed in the winter. The higher elevation means enough moisture for pinions and other trees.
We came upon a whole herd of elk along one trail. There were mule deer in the campground, but I did not get a picture of them.
Driving west, we left I 40 for a while to drive a bit of Route 66, the mother road. We had a delightful time in Seligman, AZ looking at the old cars and kitschy shops. We had a hamburger and chocolate malt (not a shake) at the Snow Cone stand and bought cheap Route 66 shirts. Just a lot of fun. It reminded us of Uncle Jerry who Don was so close to. Don and Jerry used to kid about Route 66. Jerry would have loved this place.
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