On To Arizona

We took off about 9:00 am on Tuesday.  Holbrook AZ was our destination, about 230 miles west.  We ran into a bit of construction at the state line but other than that, it was a smooth trip.  Our slides came in OK and the batteries showed full charge so the levelers came up with no problem.  We found the 12 volt light on in the pantry and hope that was the drain.  I never use that light but the switch is on the side about hip high and could easily have been bumped.  When we arrived to set up we did so without incident.

We used our horno bread to make ham sandwiches and then I promptly fell asleep.  I am sleeping pretty well but the time changes can catch up with you.  Arizona stays on MST, not observing DST, so we gained another hour today.

I decided to use the leftover pork and some ground beef to make BBQ sandwiches for dinner,  it was quick and easy. Tom and Eileen were having a pizza.  Afterwards we played Mexican Train.  Ted won and I had won the night before.  I put my hummingbird feeder out and we had one visitor who flew up about four times but appeared to eat very little.  I am going to drink my coffee outside at the table in the morning so I can watch the feeder to see if any more come by.

My first visitor in the morning.  There was another one and they fought over being the only one eating!

We headed back east on I-40 to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. We watched a very interesting movie about how this area was swampy and had dinosaur-like animals million of years ago.

Skull of phytosaur.

We left for our 27 mile drive through both parks.  These are scenery pictures from the overlooks.  

 This is the Painted Desert Inn.  It is no longer in operation neither as an inn or a Harvey restaurant.  The ranger told us a cute story of how in 1950 a fellow brought his family out in his new Buick Roadster.  The man bought a silver bracelet with polished petrified wood stones for his wife.  His granddaughter, wearing the bracelet in recent years, told him the story.

These are murals that were painted on the walls in 1948.  

Our next stop was where Route 66 originally cut through the park.  It was right next to I-40.  An old Studebaker marked the spot. Tom and Cowboy Ted posing.

The inside of the car.  It did still have a motor but not much else.

Our next stop was at the Puerco Pueblo.  Two hundred people lived here at one time.

Petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock

I thought I was onto something about the origin of the stork bringing babies.  The ranger told me it is a white ibis with a frog!  I think I like my interpretation better.

Scenes from the Blue Mesa.  I saw lots of colors but not blue!

Jasper Forest boasts lots of petrified rocks.  Silica caused the cellulose in the logs to change into stone when the area was still a swamp.  Upheavals in the earth pushed them up.

The logs look as if someone has cut them up in chunks but not so!  They broke apart on their own.

We made our way from one end of the park to the other.  A polished slab displayed in the other in the Visitor Center sort of looks like a chuck roast in the photo!

We drove back to Holbrook armed with some restaurant suggestions.  We chose Romo's on Route 66 and it was a great choice.  We are all still reeling from the lousy food at the top of the Sandia Tram.

We passed the Wigwam Motel on Route 66 and took photos of the individual TeePees with cars from the mid 1900s parked outside.

This sign announces the Wigwam Motel as being listed on the National Historic Registry.  

We made our way home.  The hummingbirds were still flitting around my feeder.  We went to McDonald's for an ice cream and then came home for our nightly game.  I won!