Day 4 of 20 Days: Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona
Along the interstate through Arizona, the entrance to the Petrified Forest sits out-of-sight about 3 miles away.
After passing the ranger booth onto the first curve, the sight of this smaller “grand canyon” astounded me with its beauty and colors.
Visiting the Petrified Forest National Park
The Painted Desert overlooks were spectacular! The park was very easy to drive, with trails, maps, and plenty of information at the Visitor Center.
One of the overlooks contained Newspaper Rock. These petroglyphs marked history from generations long past.
After the first three view points, the road takes you south across the interstate, past old Route 66 and on to Jasper Forest: A collection of wood that hardened to stone over time. It looked so fragile and wood-like; it was hard to believe it hardened into a mineral.
The white rocks and the blue rocks were incredible to see, having never seen the sights out west first-hand before. It was an amazing precursor to what would see in the days and weeks to come.
New Mexico and Arizona surprised me. I expected a flat & boring drive through the desert, but instead I found amazing beauty and open, peaceful space!
The Old Route 66
One stop at this National Park marked the memory of Route 66 with a car monument in line where the road used to exist. You could still see the old telephone poles marking the path.
Dinner and more of Pixar’s Cars!
We stopped for dinner in Holbrook, AZ at the Colonel Mustard: An old gas station converted into a hot dog stop.
As we traveled through New Mexico and on to Arizona, we kept seeing scenery that reminded us of Pixar’s movie, Cars!
In fact, just after dinner, we drove about 5 minutes down the road, turned a corner, and passed by a unique hotel. I felt like we were passing the Cozy Cone from Pixar’s Cars!
Photo by Wigwam Rhys Martin
Later, I looked it up and found that this very motel inspired Sally’s motel of Cars’ Radiator Springs. Many of the mountain formations and scenic views along Route 66 were used in the movie to depict Radiator Springs and the surrounding deserts.
Almost to Sedona
After our sightseeing, we stopped at a Walmart in Flagstaff, AZ. The Solar Panel Awnings in the parking lot were quite resourceful, and the mountain scenery was quite a sight.
Finally, we stopped for some pictures before we reached our home for the week in Rimrock, Lake Montezuma, AZ. The sunset outside our front door was a beautiful close to our day.
Conclusion
We found so many unexpected treasures on our trip, and it was only Day 4!
I’m so grateful we decided to go WEST this summer. If your considering taking a trip; go for it! You will be glad you did.
More to come…
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Keep walking friend,
Christina
Motherhood, Marriage, Homeschooling;
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