Petrified Forest National Park

Petrified Forest

We left the Red Rock Campground in Gallup, NM about 8:30. There were three of us camping there last night. Apparently the campground is not staffed this time of the year. No way to pay the $20/night fee. A night of free camping with electric & water hookups. Can’t beat that! Before leaving I left a meal out for this poor, undernourished dog that hangs out around the campground. Fed her a big meal last night as well. Gopher was barking at the dog but I shut her up and reminded her just how lucky she was.

Did some laundry in town. On the way to the Petrified Forest we crossed the continental divide. Entered the Pacific Time Zone in Arizona. Except for the Navajo Nation, Arizona does not observe daylight savings time. Stopped at the AZ Welcome Center and picked up lots of brochures to help plan the next two weeks of our trip.

Another very, very windy day. A steady 20 to 25mph wind with gusts to 40mph per the weather forecast.

We arrived at the Petrified Forest National Park about 10:00 am. Toured the visitor center. Carol bought a really neat hat; lots of bright colors. See the photos.

I asked a Park Ranger about trails we could use the scooter on. He marker our map for us with some accessible trails. We then took the drive through the Painted Desert part of the park. Unfortunately it was rather cloudy so the colors were not as brilliant as they might have been. Most of the stopping places had parking areas where Carol could see things. We used the scooter to walk the Puerco Pueblo Trail where we could “Walk amidst the remains of a hundred room village, occupied by the ancestral Puebloan people between A.D. 1250 and 1400”. Saw some petroglyphs as well. After that we walked the Crystal Forest Trail that took us through “a landscape of exquisitely colorful petrified logs”. The 0.8 mile long trail was paved but in poor condition, very narrow and steep in places. Carol thought this was the most wonderful scoot. As we drove through the Park, you could see dust storms everywhere. Not a very nice day for a visit. I was talking to a Park Service maintenance man and asked about the winds. He said it’s mostly always windy around here. He lives “off the grid” in a rural area not far from here. Has solar power, a diesel generator & propane. Uses the propane for the refrigerator & heat. He’s about to buy a wind generator. This mornings local paper had an article about electric service on the Navajo Reservation lands. About 15,000 people have no electric power. This number represents about 75% of all Americans who have no power.

Toured the Rainbow Forest Museum & Gift Shop at the south Park entry. They have a small, but very interesting, exhibit about dinosaurs that inhabited this area

Tonight we’re staying in the parking lot of a gift shop on Rt 180. It’s just as you exit the National Park. There is a sign that says “Free RV Parking”. Right now there are four of us. Not much of a view but the price is right. There are no campgrounds in the Park. Tomorrow we head into Holbrook, AZ. A town that in the days of the Old West was “too rough for women and children”. We’ll see what it’s like now