This morning we made our way out of New Mexico and into Arizona. Finally, our seventh state! And it certainly started off with a bang. Our first stop: the Painted Desert. Old Route 66 made a curvy loop through some of the Painted Desert which is now used as the official tour through the National Park. We didn't do any hikes but we pulled over at several overlooks to take some pictures. None of them truly capture the "purple mountains majesty." But seriously, they can't.
Along the old RT 66 section is the Painted Desert Inn, a 1920's adobe-style inn for travelers that was restored by the CCC in the 1930's and is now a visitors center. You can peek in the old rooms and each one has a fireplace and sink- no toilet or shower/tub!
The road through the National Park continues south of the old 66 loop for 20 more miles of the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. We took a short loop around Blue Mesa for a photo op with the Woodstock Independent and then stopped to walk around the "Crystal Forest." This section of the park is filled with huge chunks of perfectly sliced petrified wood- many with crystals inside. In case you, like me, didn't know how wood petrifies here's the gist: millions of years ago what is now the Painted Desert was a big floodplain where giant fallen trees littered the ground. These logs were covered in silt and silica filtered down from the water above, encasing the wood's organic material with minerals. So, essentially, the "wood" is actually large chunks of wood-shaped quartz. They look perfectly sliced, not, as I postulated, because dino-lumberjacks had giant chainsaws, but because tectonic shifts caused the petrified wood to crack along natural weak spots. So, to sum up, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest are pretty awesome.
Back on the route we stopped for another photo op at the Rainbow Rock Shop which has a lovely display of smiling, brightly colored dinosaurs. In New Mexico and especially in Arizona, there is a rock shop or trading post (read: gift shop) about every mile. And there used to be more. Some are just ruins now- which is slightly haunting. One of the stores that is still around is the Jackrabbit, one of the most famous trading posts because of its once numerous roadside billboards featuring the trademark rabbit silhouette.
From the Jackrabbit we made our way to Winslow, AZ, no we haven't stood on the corner...yet. It is honored with a statue and mural which we'll look for tomorrow. Today we were too preoccupied with our fabulous lodging! The beautifully restored La Posada Hotel was designed, gardens and all, by Mary Colter a very influential Southwestern architect who exemplified the "Pueblo Deco" style. The gardens and sitting areas abound, all peaceful and welcoming. Each room is named after a famous person many of whom have stayed at the hotel. Our room is the Roy Rodgers.
We spent the afternoon drinking a glass of wine in the sunken garden. What a lovely, relaxing place. Soon it was time to see the solar eclipse. Luckily a couple at the hotel had the perfect equipment to see the eclipse without rendering ourselves blind. I hope you saw it. If not, here are some pictures that might give you the idea.
We headed in to dinner in the Turquoise Room after the eclipse. We had a lovely meal complete with corn and black bean soup, crispy pork carnitas and double chocolate and Grand Marnier souffle. Delicious! One of our best meals for sure.
It's been a great day in Arizona, hopefully the rest of the state will be just as interesting. If we ever leave this hotel...
Until we meet again, C
Petrified Forest National Park covers about 146 square miles in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. The site was declared a National Monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962.
ReplyDeleteWe visited the park in 1961 and Mom "liberated" a small chunk of petrified wood which, being the honest young man my parents made me, I promptly tossed out the window of the car. It wasn't until later that evening she produced the much larger, but less colorful, piece she had hidden in her purse. I'm not sure if anyone in the family still has it. I know I do not.
I remember how mad Ma got when you threw the beautiful, pilfered piece of petrified wood out the window, while we were still in the park. I do not have the larger piece either. It's against the law!
ReplyDeleteOnce again, the pictures are beautiful! I love the many eclipses in that one pic.
The "many eclipses" is a macro photo taken of the sun through my straw hat onto my neck. We viewed the eclipse through many ways (my straw hat, on the building, through special glasses and special filtered mirror, but the best was through the astronomer's telescope. I'll post a photo of that in my post tonight. It doesn't do the view justice by any means, but it's still pretty cool.
ReplyDelete