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Published: June 29th 2016
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This morning we headed to Sun Valley, AZ on the way we stopped at the first rest stop into Arizona in a town called Lupton to see the Painted Cliffs. It was very beautiful, but did not seem to interest the rest of the family. Once in Sun Valley we set up our campsite at Sun Valley RV ($19/night with Passport America) and headed straight back out to the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park. As soon as we left the trailer the winds became severe, semi trucks were pulled over, it looked like something from a movie watching the winds pick up and the desert dust come across the highway. If we would have slowed down just 20 or 30 minutes with the trailer in tow this morning we probably would have had some major problems, I must say that God was with us today looking out for us.
Once we reached the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park ($20/car without National Park Pass - free for us 😊) it did not take long for me to realize that this was going to be my favorite park up to now. As soon as you enter the 28 mile road into the
park there is a pull off to the right, which had the most beautiful view of the Painted Desert. I have added a panorama photo so you can try to get an idea of how nice this park really is. We continued through the park stopping at every available pull off. We were able to go into the Painted Desert Inn which was built in the early 1920s. The wind was still extremely strong and the temperature dropped dramatically. At the Newspaper Rock stop we were able to view over 650 petroglyphs some from over 2,000 years old. Towards the end of the drive we stopped at a pull off with a walking loop to view the petrified wood it was a treat to see what still appeared to be just fallen wood from a forest, but be solid stone with rich colors and textures. The wood looked out of place in the desert landscape. We all enjoyed the park. Our journey then continued on to the town of Holbrook, a quaint little town with many quirky spots throughout its streets. You could see stone dinosaurs and a motel where the rooms were tee pees with classic cars parked in
the front of each tee pee. This location was the inspirations for the Disney movie "Cars". The old tow truck was parked at the front entrance, another gem along historic Route 66.
Arriving back at the campground we decided to try to stake out the next days stop which thankfully only 2 more hours to the west it was decided that only one night would be needed here to try to gain a little cushion just in case we ran into weather and would have to hang in trailer. We packed up the trailer the next day and tried to squeeze some laundry in. We actually packed pretty well considering this was the first time we did have to do laundry, don't worry we didn't have to turn any underwear inside out. While wandering around the lounge waiting for the dryer to finish one of the owners was working the office and we began to chat. We were lucky enough to hear the adventures he and his family had this year, moving 3 generations 2 states away to take over a very neglected campground and bring it back to life, bigger and better than even the previous owners had
imagined. I must say we felt blessed to witness the hard work and dedication they all possessed as they were all working the grounds during our arrival and again early the next day upon our departure. We hope to also keep our family ties strong. They were an inspiration.
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