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such a fine sight to see

Monday morning, we left Grants, NM headed to Flagstaff. First stop on the way: Petrified Forest National Park. The first time I went to Arizona, my junior year in college, the Painted Desert was the thing I most wanted to see other than the Grand Canyon. It didn't happen then, so I was super-excited this time. It was amazing and beautiful. We started with the Painted Desert Rim Trail where I all I could do was stop and stare. Next we headed to the Puerco Pueblo where the ruins are not buried and we could see them! On the same walking loop is a pile of rocks covered in petroglyphs, so we got to see some in spite of the mean man in Albuquerque. We also drove the Blue Mesa Loop road and meant to hike the Blue Mesa Trail, but somehow missed the trailhead, so we only got a driving tour. It was still a-mazing.We also did some walking around the Petrified Forest Visitor Center and I finally learned where all that petrified wood actually comes from. I've been fascinated by petrified wood for a looong time. I remember going far off the main road in Yellowstone a few years ago to look at petrified log. This one was in the middle of a forest, so it made more sense. This petrified forest is in the middle of the desert though. And I understand that millions and billions of years ago, it was not a desert, but it still didn't make sense. And then I found out that it's driftwood. That makes SO much more sense!
Next stop, Winslow, AZ so we could stand on a corner. We were the youngest people trying to stand on that corner by about 30 years, but for some reason, this was something I was ridiculously looking forward to. The fact that there was a statue there, waiting for me to stand with, made it even better. As did the Willie Nelson look-a-like also waiting to stand on the corner as if this were the thing he had been waiting his whole life to do.On to Sedona. As we passed through the outskirts of Flagstaff on I-40, I briefly considered exiting the interstate to get gas, but we had a quarter of a tank, so I kept driving, south on 89A through Oak Creek Canyon. This is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever been on, but sadly, this time all I could think about was whether or not we were going to run out of gas. Thankfully, we arrived in Sedona with no problems and immediately put more gas in my tank than has ever been required before.

We drove down to Red Rock Canyon State Park and arrived about 4:30, only to find out that the park closes at 5. What is with all these places closing so early?! So back in Sedona, we stopped at the Red Planet Diner for milkshakes. Sedona is weird place. No thank you, I do not need to have my crystals re-charged. Nor do I believe that Martians are going to land in Sedona, of all places. So I called Brent and asked him if we wanted to a little bit of hiking where we should go. He gave a couple of wonderful recommendations and we did not take them. Instead we managed to get to the Cathedral Rock trail and planned to just pop out of the car for a bit to see the red rocks up close and personal before it rained. It turned into more of an hour hike and was jolly good fun as the rain held off.
Finally, we headed back north to Flagstaff, to spend the night at Brent's in his absence. With a full tank of gas, I got to enjoy the drive this time. After making dinner in a kitchen for the first time in a few days (though we still had hot dogs), we settled down on the couch for an evening of Arrested Development watching.

Labels: roadtrip '10, travel

posted by CP @ 10:03 AM 0 thoughts