Day 5 Part III- Petrified Forest National Park

My dad told me he went to Petrified Forest 60 years ago when he was a kid. He STILL remembers it. He was really excited for the boys to see it.  THEY were excited to see it. Now I had never been to PF, and Charles hadnt been since he was a kid.

We drove from Walnut Canyon and did a straight shot to Petrified Forest.  It was an easy drive.  We started in the south entrance and worked our way through the north side of the park, did the loop and headed back on I-40 to Gallup NM.

We arrived to Petrified forest in the mid afternoon. you could see the rainclouds LOOMING.  We knew it was only a matter of time before they caught up with us.
I had heard from several people, and read several things that said Petrified forest isnt really a multi day park. You really just need a few hours to see most of everything.  I found that to be somewhat true.  We took about 2 hours in Petrified forest from start to finish.  It was a little abbreviated due to the weather.
I never realized that this actually used to be a forest with trees.  Then when they fell and due to climate change, volcanic activity etc, the stuff covering it caused the tissue in the trees to crystalize, and become rock. Thats why there are so many petrified trees in the park and surrounding areas. It just never really clicked, until I read it and it all fell into place.  lightbulb of understanding.


I was driving as we entered. We passed the ranger station and were heading towards the visitors center.  Up ahead I thought I could see something on the road.  As I got closer I realized what It was.  I squelched the urge to run it over with my car. I drove over it, careful not to actually run it over.  I was immediately sick to my stomach, as I could see it still crawling in my rear view mirror.  However I knew this would be a rare opportunity.  Since no one was behind me, I backed up, and told everyone to get out.  Crossing the road was a GIANT TARANTULA!!!
Now I had only ever seen them in pet stores and zoos. Never in the wild.  Yet here he was, crossing the road like no big deal. Finn was THRILLED.

Fang

He was a big boy.

All Petrified wood.

 Then The wind blew in.  It was seriously a gale. It almost knocked poor Peter to the ground.

The bridge. They shored it up back in the 40's (I think thats when it was). 

Newspaper Rock petroglyphs

its a boy scout arrow of light!!

Close up detail of petrification.

Unfortunately the rain caught up with us and it POURED!

After Petrified forest we headed to Gallup New Mexico.  There we drove a bit down historic Rte 66, and ate at a really good Mexican Restaurant.  The salsa verde was so good.  The red salsa was pretty tasty as well.  In fact both Charles and I had blisters on the inside of our lower lip from the spicy. We drove a little more down 66, and saw some of the famous neon lights.  It reminded us of the movie "Cars".

conked out boys.

Day 5 Part II- Walnut Canyon National Momument

After our blow through tour of Sedona, we returned back to Flagstaff and headed out 40East on I-40, towards the Petrified forest. We had decided to make one detour, just a few minutes outside of Flagstaff at a place called Walnut Creek. It is a national monument, so our pass covered it.  I had read about it online and it looked interesting.  As I said in a previous post, when you do research online and see pictures, there is really no way to imagine the scope.  Im not sure exactly what I was expecting, but it wasnt what we ended up getting.  It was WAY better.

When you see Walnut Canyon in photos, you dont realize just how amazing it is.
It was home to the Sinagua people almost 1000 years ago.  They built up walls under the cliff overhangs, and lived there. They were like the first condos. seriously.

I knew there was a mile hike loop to the ruins, but like I said I didnt know what I was really getting into once I got there.
We headed out down the trail and immediately were blown away.  You can see these ancient dwelling ruins ALL OVER THE PLACE. Throughout the entire canyon.

The Ranger at the visitors center said that the trail loop hike was about a mile, and you had to go down about 288 steps and wind around the canyon.  And what goes down, must come back up...

we headed out on the trail.  We descended down the zillion stairs onto a "path". I say path in the loosest sense of the terms.  It was definitely a trail, but it was not paved.  There were no rails.  You were one step between sure footing and the cliff edge/death.  Just the kind of hike two adventurous boys love.

I felt like I was constantly saying "ah ah ah...back from the edge young man".  or "Stay where I can see you:" or "Slow down!"

Alll throughout this rim hike we came across various overhangs and ruins.

There were ruins everywhere.

exploring

more steps...

you can see the rows...like an apartment complex

The trip back UP the stairs was really difficult.  We met a ranger on the way back up to the visitors center and stopped and talked to him for a bit.(Plus it was a great excuse to rest for a moment).

I REALLY loved Walnut Creek. It was absolutely amazing. It was kind of a preview of Mesa Verde.(Not nearly the same grand scale, but similar concept).

This was absolutely the best side trip.  Takes about 2 hours, taking your time.   A hidden gem.

Day 5 Part I Sedona Arizona

Woke up in Flagstaff to a drizzly day.  We headed out after breakfast and decided to make a quick run through Sedona.  I had been there before, but Charles hadnt.  It was only 30 miles there, (but south and out of the way) but I really wanted to drive through Oak Creek Canyon and for him to see it.  I Love Sedona, the quaint little artsy town, and the red rocks are hypnotizing.

We drove on 89A, a super winding, hairpin turn route that took us through Oak Creek Canyon. It was a thrilling, grip-the-steering-wheel-and pray type road. It took us through breathtaking mountains and into Sedona.
ALL photos were taken through the car window. It was really rainy and kind of gross outside to start the day.

We get into Sedona and just do a quick drove through. We didnt really stop, just took pictures.  Like I said it was a quickie side trip just so Charles could get a look. Next trip we will spend more time.

Yes that IS a McDonalds.  the golden arches are Green here. cool huh?

When we were done, we turned around and drove right back the way we had come, back through the canyon, back through the twisty hairpin turns of death and back to Flagstaff.  Next Stop Walnut Canyon National Monument.