Painted Desert and Petrified Forest

We rolled up US 285 to IH 40 to cross New Mexico and head into Arizona at a little higher latitude. We camped at a KOA in Holbrook, AZ so that we could take a full day to see these spectacular areas in Arizona. We've driven by many times and could not take the time to pull off the interstate to fully view these areas. We're so glad that we had time to fully appreciate the wonders....and also that we did so in spring rather than summer!

We drove in to the south entrance to the Petrified Forest Park, happily using our park pass. The National Parks Service has a lot of construction going on, but the Rainbow Forest Museum was open and the short Giant Logs trail (.4 mile) takes visitors for a close up view of a variety of the ancient trees turned to stone. Here the boys are enjoying the last remnant of shade from the museum before starting the trek. Fortunately, the spring temperatures were very comfortable!A self-guided tour, the NPS provided a pamphlet that we took turns narrating for each other as we walked along. Besides seeing the beautiful formations and details of the trees, we found this beautiful Collared Lizard posing for us from his perch on one of the petrified logs.

We stopped at the Blue Mesa and Newspaper Rock loops off the main road through the park. We didn't take the hiking trail at Blue Mesa because we wanted to save time for the views of the Painted Desert at sunset. Each turn provided yet another unique formation or set of colors for us to enjoy.

Newspaper Rock enabled us to observe petroglyphs through scopes provided at the stop. The rocks with the images were far below, so they could not be seen with the naked eye. We had a hard time envisioning a farming society being able to plant and harvest crops in what now looks so very barren! Imagining train robbers hiding out in the 'badlands' was much easier!

We continued on to the Painted Desert area north of IH 40 to enjoy the viewing areas and overlooks. We couldn't resist trying to photograph the amazing image before our eyes, knowing that even professional quality equipment can't quite capture the vast beauty. We enjoyed hiking along the rim on the short trail near Kachina Point. We stayed until closing time, about an hour before sunset.

While in Holbrook, we took a drive along Route 66 and found this amusing Tepee Motel. We believe the graphic designers for the animated movie "Cars" must have been to Holbrook before us for inspiration!