This morning we had to be up and on the road early - they were doing some upgrades to the hot water system at the hotel where we were staying and were going to turn the water off at 8:00 am. There were some stops that we wanted to make today, so leaving early fit right into our plans. Do you believe that the latest that Graham has slept til on this vacation is 8:00 am ~ an unheard of feat!!
First stop today was The Petrified Forest National Forest near Holbrook, Arizona. What an amazingly breathtaking place ~ The first stop on the road was for some long-distance vistas of the Painted Desert. The Mesas nin the distance were a spectacular mauve colour which contrasted with the closer red rocks.
Peurco Pueblo is a partially stabilized 100 room pueblo built around 1250 CE. It probably housed nearly 1200 people. Looking down the cliff are black rocks that are covered in petroglyphs. More petroglyphs were to be seen at Newspaper Rock ~ they are very primitive, but at the same time very expressive.
Next on the road were The Tepees. These are layered blues, purples and grays caused by iron, carbon, manganese and other minerals. The Tepees stand in massive cone-shaped formations over a large area of the park.
Last but not least are the petrified logs ~ most of these logs have fallen out of the surrounding rock and lie strewn across the floor of the formations. Now and again we would get a glimpse of a log still encased in the surrounding rock. The colours are bright and beautiful.
Once we left the Forest, we headed for the Meteorite Crater at Winslow, Arizona. Apparently this crater is one of the largest in the world and so closely resembles the moon surface that it was used by NASA to train the Apollo astronauts. As we got closer and closer to the crater, the sky became darker and darker and visibility started decreasing. We decided that it was likely safer to head for our hotel in Flagstaff. Good thing we did ~ we drove to Flagstaff in the midst of a blizzard!!!!! It was so bad that the police closed the interstate, stranding many motorists. The hotel where we are staying is unexpectedly full for the night. We have traveled over 3400 km to escape the cold and snow and here we are in the middle of New Mexico in the midst of a raging blizzard. I felt like bursting into "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas" -- NOT!!!!!!
2 comments:
Enjoy the snow.
None here since you left and they are calling for 4 degrees and rain on Christmas Day.
Sounds like you are having fun.
Hi there my friends:
Well, hey there! Happy Belated Christmas and Boxing Days!! So...what did you do on the 25th? I see you didn't post anything then. So glad to know you are surviving the Great White South...LOL!! I sure hope you've enjoyed your snowy trek down there! Did you remember your snow shoes? Too bad you didn't have vehicle snow scrapers!! I've been keeping track of the weather in your area so was not surprised to read of your experiences; in fact, I have to laugh! Today, finally, we've been hit by our own snow storm...1st one this season!! Might get up to 15 cms when all said and done around here. Better late than never! So anyhoodles, thanks for sharing your snow! Ha, ha!
I had a great time with my daughters in Ottawa for Christmas and then Jennifer and Ethan followed me back to London on Boxing Day so we could visit the family around here. We left Ottawa driving in freezing rain which we finally ditched somewhere near Kingston! Jennifer left this morning to return to Ottawa, so I hope her trip wasn't too bad in the snow squalls we've had today.
BTW: Your plants were very happy to see me last week and I will visit them again on Thursday.
Take good care and don't forget to wear your snuggies down there!
love
Eileen et al
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