The Petrified Forest and Winslow Arizona 10.29.23

 

10.29.23 We left early in the morning and arrived at the Navajo County Courthouse Visitor Center and Museum in Holbrook. 

The Jail inside the Courthouse.

Nasty. I would think this jail would have been a deterrent to crime.

The jail even had vault doors! Must have been some dangerous criminals in there!

The attendant there obviously did not care for our enthusiasm but he directed us to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert entrance. On the way, we passed though Snowflake and Bellybutton.

Holy Moly! What a Monday Road that was! It was so wavy that we were airborne and Al had to slow down!

The Painted Desert is sometimes mistakenly thought of as a separate park from the Petrified Forest. The Painted Desert is actually a large formation arcing in a crescent shape from the Grand Canyon down through the Petrified Forest National Park.

We stopped at the Rainbow Forest Museum and Giant Logs Trail Park Visitor Center and Museum, where I got my passport stamped and Al and Marley walked a loop. The Petrified Forest was created following a violent volcanic explosion 3.4 million years ago. 

Inside the Visitor Center are fossils of petrified wood, archosaurs, crocodiles, alligators, birds and other invertebrates and fish. At least 15 different species of dinosaurs lived in the Arizona area. The largest dinosaur found in Arizona was a Sonorasaurus measuring 50 feet long and 26 feet tall, weighing between 88,000-110,000 pounds.

Al stood in the spot where Albert Eistein stood on March 1, 1931 at a giant petrified log that is 35 feet long. 

Driving through the 26 mile park road took us several hours and we did not walk any of the trails except that first loop. There is so much to see here and many miles of trails to walk if you so wish. The road ends at Route 66 at the north end of the Park Road. Route 66, also known as the Mother Road, was established on November 11, 1926. The highway became one of the most famous roads in America and ran 2, 448 miles from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California.

The Agate Bridge

The Blue Mesa Loop

Newspaper Rock. There are supposed to be over 650 petroglyphs, some as old as 2000 years old. It was windy and cold so I didn't find all 650!

A 1932 Studebaker sits where Route 66 once cut through the park.

From there we went to Winslow and you know we had to do it. Yes, we stood on the corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine site to see… There is a Standin on the Corner Park including a “flat bed Ford” in Winslow, Arizona that honors the Eagles hit song “Take it Easy”.

It was a long day! Back at the campground we warmed up with tomato soup and chicken salad sandwiches. The next couple of days we will be getting ready to move to our winter spot in Mesa, AZ. It’s very cold up here in the mountains in Show Low, AZ. 23 degrees right now at 6:34 am Monday 10.30.23. We had to unhook the water hoses and turn on the tank heaters to keep Mona warm overnight. It’s supposed to be even colder tonight!

I’ll post again after we get settle in Mesa. I need to get my bones warmed up!