Thursday, July 18, 2024

Starting mileage: 16239, Distance travelled: 377

Our day started waking at our no-frills, highway-side RV park which got us a little closer to the day’s destination, Petrified Forest National Park. The highway was dotted with asphalt-colored volcanic rock detritus that confused us for miles, thinking it might be torn up old road. We crossed into Arizona and made it to the visitors center by what we thought was 10:30 but have since been confused by Arizona’s stubborn refusal to follow Daylight Savings Time.

After a couple of scenic overlook pauses, our first stop was the Painted Desert Inn, a national historic landmark that had been turned into a mini-museum and gift shop.

Our next stop was Puerco Pueblo, an ancient Native American settlement that shows signs of early technologies, including using a crack in a boulder to track the solstice.

A short distance further was Newspaper Rock, the largest concentration of petroglyphs in the park, arranged across two giant boulders. There was also a dramatic rock fall there.

Blue Mesa was our next stop and longest hike in the blazing sun. We walked a total of one mile through blue and purple hills scattered with petrified wood logs. Erosion evidence was on full display and pebbles were literally littering the tops of sandstone slopes. A mile might not sound like much but between the elevation gain and the brutal 95-heat with zero shade, it was rough.

We stopped briefly at Jasper Forest (largest collection of petrified trees in the park), Agate Bridge (longest petrified wood spanning a gully), and the 1932 Studebaker marking the location of former Rt.66 (as the only National Park it passed through).

We finally made it to the south end of the park, where we ate lunch at a picnic area threatened by a murder of giant crows. We visited the Rainbow Forest Museum, home to fossils from the park, including dinosaurs and non-dinosaur ancestors of the modern crocodile. Enormous polished cross-sections of petrified wood were also on display, showcasing the incredible array of colors it can possess. A walk through Giant Logs behind the museum showed off the biggest tree in the park, “Old Faithful,” boasting a 10-foot circumference at its largest section.

Our final stop in the park was Crystal Forest, on our way back north. We were mildly disappointed with the lack of “crystals” as advertised, but also nearly had a repeat of yesterday’s thunderstorm adventure, but this time in a flat desert with no shelter. We repeatedly exhorted Dad to cease with the obsessive photographic documentation and just get back to the safety of the van.

Shortly after leaving the park, Brady discovered that ant colony had decided his iPad was the safest nesting area. At some point during the day, they had moved two mounds of eggs the size of a stack of quarters to the screen of his iPad. Once discovered, they began relocating again to an unknown location in the van, while the family panicked until we could find a place to stop. Once we were able to clean the eggs, we realized that they had also been relocated under the iPad and inside the case.

The drive north to Utah was beautiful, passing through very flat scrubby desert with huge, glorious rock formations surrounding us in all directions. On this stretch we passed through our first sections of open range land where cattle roam free. To keep ourselves entertained and avoid sibling squabbling, we started playing “Cow or Shrub,” a rousing game of quick identification along the way. It had the added benefit of avoiding plowing into a cow (or a shrub) at 70 MPH.

We crossed the Utah border and immediately landed at our home for the night, Cadillac Ranch RV Park in Bluff, UT. Despite a distinct ranch aroma on the breeze, it had amazing views at sunset and the best facilities, including the fastest internet we’ve had in a campground.