Another travel day and still on schedule -- Monument Valley UT to Holbrook AZ via Flagstaff - a mere 260 miles.
Last night was one of those nights where sleep was difficult - the noise from the wind was incredible. To deal with that, I turn the AC fan on and let it run. The sound of the AC fan, noisy but consistent like white-noise, drowns out the noise outside and lets me sleep. I've been in a number of RV parks near Interstates, and deal with the road noise the same way. Holbrook is one of those places. In addition, the wind is still blowing. It seems there is a persistent deep trough in the jet stream dipping low into the four corners area. The trough is channeling all the low pressure systems from the north right through this area and generating all the wind - in addition to cooler temps than normal. Mornings are in the 30's and daytime temps are only into the 60's.
Holbrook is the nearest city to the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. In the 1880s. Holbrook advertised itself as, "Not fit for Woman or Child." Hmmm. I didn't find evidence of that, but Holbrook is certainly . . . ummm . . . different. The main attraction, besides the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert, is an industry selling petrified logs to the public. I counted no less than 24 separate establishments selling this stuff -- one, pretty large, billed itself as a petrified log "factory." Go figure that one out! Do you care for a coffee table made from a petrified log? Only $9000 and 2000# -- beef up your floor for this one! I wouldn't just drop it in the back of your pickup to get it home either!
Holbrook also has their little piece of US Route 66 and the consequent "attractions." One of the most notable here is the Wigwam Motel -- all the rooms are cottages and are concrete Indian Wigwams. (Recently, I've seen these in a TV commercial for a new car.)
Here's the office on West Hopi Drive, Holbrook AZ. This used to be US 66, now it's US 180 and Business 40.
Concrete Wigwams with an air conditioner stuck in the side of each. The Classic Cars are landscaping, but most are roadworthy and licensed for the road.
The contemporary cars in this shot are current customers!
Just a note about National Parks and the fees they charge for use -- This park charges an entrance fee of $6 per vehicle, some parks charge more and some less. Many parks are free. In Acadia earlier this year, I bought an annual National Parks Pass for $50 and upgraded to the Eagle Pass for another $15. This gets me into any National Park facility without paying the local use fee. So far this year, this has more than paid for itself!!
As you travel east out of Holbrook on 180, the scenery is western - a high steppe desert. This is laarrrgge cattle ranch country -- about 100 acres per cow because the vegetation is so meager. This is really a bleak landscape. But it's nothing compared to what you'll see once in the National Park -- this is truly a "blasted" landscape - not quite moonscape, but darn close.
The wind is still blowing here but there's not the dust and dirt blowing around as up north. Although this is technically a desert, there is some vegetation to keep the dirt on the ground.
I arrive at the southern gate to the
Petrified Forest at 8:00 am, just about the time they open. There are few
features that grab your attention.
A
half mile into the park there is a visitor's center and that's a good place
to start in any National Park. It's here that you can get all the maps and
info on what there is to see in the park. Here, there's also a short hike
through what they call the Giant Logs area. This is one of the larger
collections of petrified logs in the park. This is an "interpretive" trail
so you can learn a little about the origin of the petrified logs in this
area as well as getting a little exercise.
Here's a view back toward the Visitor's Center from a high point of the trail. As you can see, it's really a desolate landscape.
If you've ever wondered what a petrified log really looks like, here ya go!
History Lesson
- This high, dry tableland was once a vast floodplain. The area was
surrounded by tall pine-like trees - the petrified logs you can see today.
As the trees fell, they were washed into the floodplain and eventually
covered by silt, mud and volcanic ash. The blanket of deposits cut off
oxygen to the logs and slowed decay. Silica laden groundwater seeped through
the logs and replaced the original organic wood tissues with silica
deposits. The silica eventually crystallized into quartz, preserving the
images of the logs you can see today. The colors come from iron, carbon,
manganese and sometimes cobalt and chromium, producing the patterns and
blends of yellow, red, black, blue, brown, white and pink. All this happened
well before your time and mine - about 250 MYA in the Late Triassic Period.
The area subsequently sank and was covered with water and more sediment.
Later, the area was lifted far above sea level and over time, wind and water
have worn away the layers of sediments, exposing the fossilized remains of
the logs. Today, continuing erosion of the hills exposes new finds of
petrified logs and other fossils.
One of the highlights of a tour through Petrified Forest/Painted Desert is a hike around Blue Mesa. It's a one-mile easy (relatively) hike and part of it is even paved. The hike takes you down off the Mesa into an area of cone-shaped badland hills. They're composed of bentonite, a soft, porous clay. Manganese and iron oxides provide the color -- purple and red respectively. A view down the side of the Mesa -