18 SEP 2010

We left Gallop NM this morning knowing that we were going into Arizona. Wes has been looking forward to arriving at the Grand Canyon since before we left on this trip. Again, as we drove we were amazed at how flat the land was around us, yet often there were ‘hills croppings’ that seemed to appear and then disappear.

We were not long on the go when I noticed that the low tire pressure indicator was on in the car. This required that we stop to check to see if we had a flat tire. Visually everything looked good but of course now we are concerned. We travelled bit further until we finally found an exit with a gas station – of course we assumed we would be able to get air if needed. We used the pressure gauge to check and learned that one tire was about 6 lbs lower than the others. I am not sure if this was serious, but we thought we would fill up the tire just in case. No air at this station. So off we went and if you know Wes you know that he tends to worry. As expected, no problem the next gas station we came to had air and we put air in the tire.

Our travels took us through the area of the Petrified Forest National Park (Monument) so we decided to stop and look around. This park has access from I40 and by driving through the park we would end up on HWY 180. The 26 mile drive through the park was great with multiple stops at key sights and trails. The first part of the drive did not have anything to do with petrified wood but instead had views of the Painted Desert.

 The vista involved looking over a variety of sculptures with outcroppings colored in all shades of red, black and brown. We walked along a nature trail called Tawa Point and Rim Trail. We learned about many plants native to the area and enjoyed the views into the Painted Desert.

From here we travelled to Puerco Pueblo which is a partially stabilized foundation of a Pueblo that housed nearly 1200 people around the years of 1250 AD. There is no explanation as to what happened to have the pueblo abandoned. What we found very interesting was the petro glyphs found on the rock faces in that area.

Our next stop was the Tepees which are layered clay in blue, purple and grey colors. The Tepee reference is to the cone shaped formations.

We moved to the Blue Mesa where we found out first petrified logs. Originally the trees were buried in clay, silt, mud and volcanic ash during floods and swollen streams. Today as erosion occurs these buried petrified logs are being unearthed. In some cases, the petrified wood breaks as the logs shift and are exposed. We took the loop trail which went down into the bottom of the blue mesas where more evidence of petrified wood could be experienced. Needless to say we did not pick up any souvenirs which was good since they do vehicles searches as you leave the park.

We continued to explore this park by stopping at the Jasper Forest which was an overview of an area that once has a ‘forest ‘ of petrified wood. Unfortunately much of the forest has been removed prior to this area being designated as a National Park.

Finally we stopped at the Giant Logs trail at the Rainbow Forest Museum. This has the parks largest petrified log and we were able to have a picture taken with Wes to demonstrate the size. Hard to imagine such large sized wood being petrified and available for tourists to enjoy.

One of the things to be aware is that petrified wood can have beautiful quartz and other crystallized minerals inside and as this wood is cut and exposed this rock polished for showing. Because of that there are markets for petrified wood and owners of private land in the area are supplying the markets. So if you feel the need to have a polished dining room table made from petrified wood it is possible, just reinforce the floor of your house before moving it in.

The last town before arriving at the Grand Canyon is Flagstaff and since we were planning to stay at the park campsite for several days we needed to stock up supplies. Also we picked up a 12 volt air pump in case the tire needed air again.

We arrived at the South Rim Grand Canyon Mather campsite and were able to get a tent site which turned out to be fortunate since there were only 2 sites available and the other site was rented shortly after we arrived.

After setting up the tent and dealing with dinner we went to the rim to see the Grand Canyon and watch the sunset. It amazes me how fast it gets dark here, one minute the sun is out, then it is gone and with it all light.. we go from light to dark in a matter of minutes. However, what a great introduction to the Grand Canyon.