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Published: January 18th 2015
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Day 5 – Jan. 14, 2015 – Petrified Forest Got up early today so that we could take in the sights of the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park. Following breakfast we packed up the car and headed off to the Petrified Forest’s southern entrance. Our plan to visit the park was totally dependent on the weather; if it looks favourable, and at 7:00 am the online weather service forecast called for mixed precipitation later clearing to partly sunny with temperatures in the low 40’sF, then we would go. In actual fact when we arrived at the park it was cold and cloudy but improved as we went through. Being wintertime the park was not congested with a lot of tourists.
Our first stop was at the trading post located outside of the entrance of the park where we looked over many of their polished rock items and were particularly interested in some pieces of native pottery. Of course the one that attracted Brooke’s attention right off was also the most expensive one in the case, $750 marked down to $635, so we passed on it. Before leaving the trading post we picked
up a bag stones from petrified trees, which I will make into frig magnets. The instructions on the bag made it clear that it was not to be opened until we left the park. There are stern warnings posted all over the park about collecting anything from the park itself and an opened bag would have raised the park rangers’ suspicions.
The park service recommends that you expect to take 2-3 hours for the driving tour through the park, 28 miles, with the associated photo stops. We entered the park at 9:30 with no other cars in sight. The temperature was a mere 2°C with a slight breeze from the northwest.
We followed the paved route, south to north so all of the map instructions were in reverse, through the park to the first stop at the Giants Log and the Rainbow Forest Museum. Here we had an opportunity to view a film that provided an overview of the history of the park.
Behind the information center there was a paved trail that wended its way through many fallen tree trunks, including one massive log that has been dubbed “Old Faithful”.
Next to the information center there was a native run trading post where we had a brief look around but didn’t purchase anything.
The road snakes its way north passing a number of pull out points where you could park and go for short walks on pave pathways. There are clear signs all over the place asking people to stay on the paved surfaces but there was clear evidence, since it had rained and the ground was muddy, that individuals had not obeyed the messages.
Agate Bridge provided another fascinating sight where a fossilized log had been undercut by water and formed a natural bridge. The park service has had to stabilize the tree, by constructing a reinforced concrete beam under it or it to would collapse into the gully below.
While the ancient fossilized trees, dating back to 200 million years ago, dominate the site there is clear evidence that humans occupied sections of the park as early as 13,000 years ago. One of the more interesting points is called Newspaper Rock where hundreds of petroglyphs are etched into the rocks over the edge of a cliff. The park supplied
spotting scopes to view them but we found that our telephoto lenses provided much clearer images.
Near another site known as Puerco Pueblo, where archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a 100-room village built between 1250 and 1380, was another set of petroglyphs. One of these celebrated the summer solstice; a natural fissure in one rock proved a slit where the sun shone through only on the solstice precisely each and every year. The shamans marked the spot with a petroglyph of the sun.
After passing over the I-40 we came to a monument for the original Route-66. Over the last two days we had been on small portions of that classic highway which was responsible for opening up much of this portion of the western USA.
The section north of I-40 was devoted to the Painted Desert with once again a number of pullout areas where you could park and get out to take pictures of the landscape below. Fortunately for us the sun had chosen to come out and the scenery was spectacular.
Having spent an awe inspiring 3 hours in the park we exited at
the northern entrance and went into the Information Center and adjoining trading post. There we had probably one of the best, and least expensive, lunches of the journey so far. Run by the ladies from the local Navajo tribe they served a very tasty and nourishing lunch. I had a rich potato soup with fried bread, while Brooke had a taco, also on fried bread that included fried beans, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes; not at all spicy.
Following lunch we refueled the car at the service station at the center and headed off, at 1:25 p.m., on I-40 for our journey south to San Tan Valley. We had programmed the GPS with where we wanted to go and assumed that she would take us along the interstate highways for the sake of speed. Oh were we mistaken!
Instead we ended up doing an arduous cross-country trek, following a number of secondary highways, namely 77 to 377 to 277 to 260 to 87. At one point we passed through a portion of the Tonto Nation Forest where it was snowing, with a substantial snow covering on the ground and a temperature of 0°C. After cresting
one mountain, elevation at 7,700 feet we headed out of the high country down into a valley passing between two mountain ranges and then into the Phoenix area from the east. We arrived just at the height of rush hour and with the setting sun nearly blinding us we arrived at our destination, San Tan Valley at 5:50. The temperature at our arrival was 18°C.
Distance travelled for the fifth day was 424.2 km.
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