Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park.................

Heading east, we stopped in Holbrook, AZ, for a couple of nights, with plans to visit Petrified Forest. We arrived early Tuesday afternoon, and once we were settled, headed immediately out to the park Visitor Center. We talked with the ranger about some easy hikes and how best to utilize our time in the park. It was pushing 100 degrees (actually, it was 100 for a while, before it cooled down to 97), so we decided to watch the educational movie (they are always so great in the National Parks) and drive the Painted Desert park loop road, with stops at overlooks. No hiking! Just way too hot!

Though this park is right alongside I-40, you can't see it from the interstate. We have traveled on I-40 and actually drove right by. What a gem of a park! Just gorgeous. And to do it justice, you really need to spend a full day here. Just sayin'.

crafting during the heat wave!

Wow...this is gorgeous!

the pinks are so vibrant

beautiful landscape

more

another viewpoint in the Painted Desert

The views were outstanding! WOW! Of course, the views change with the light. Its all about the light! I can imagine it must be spectacular with really good light, such as sunset. A visual delight! We spotted some petrified wood in various places as well, but could not get too close. There are signs posted everywhere indicating where you can and can't walk. There is absolutely NO stealing of any natural objects. They are serious about that! The ranger hands out cards to record license plates and incidents, if you observe anyone taking petrified wood, or anything else, or if you observe anyone exploring off trail on their own. That was a new one for us-the encouragement of reporting incidents to law enforcement rangers regarding destruction or stealing of natural items.

petrified logs down below

this place has incredible views

It really is all about the light. The landscape just lights up in the sun! A huge difference when the clouds are blocking the light. Of course, the monsoons were coming too, so we wanted to keep moving along. See the rain in the distance?

stunning

hhmmm...looks like the information board above...i think the monsoons are coming

Each viewpoint had a new vantage point, and seemed to have something new to highlight on the landscape stretched before us. Just so beautiful!

enjoying the view

can you believe this?

gorgeous

Ravens open their mouths to stay cool when its hot (and its 100 degrees!)

Lucky for us, we finished our tour of the Painted Desert before the weather arrived! The sky and the land are so vast....so so vast. Being from the east, we still marvel at that! Amazing!

incoming weather! our first monsoon season!

Painted Desert Inn-Historic Landmark

The next morning, we got up pretty early so we could be at the Visitor Center when it opened at 7am. We wanted to do a couple of short hikes, but with the searing temperatures we would only do that in the very early morning.

The first stop was  Puebloan Ruins...an apartment house complex of 100 rooms. Amazing. At this site,one of the viewpoints looked out over petroglyphs. What do they mean? That is the question. What is the story? Would be so interesting to crack the code.

Puebloan ruins

the dwelling here had 100 rooms

lots of ruins here

glyphs

these petroglyphs look so sophisticated to me

interesting

what is the message, or story?

During the movie at the Visitor Center, we learned that the ancients knew when to plant in this harsh desert environment and used the summer solstice marker to remind them when to plant each year. It was so intersting to learn about that, and then to actually see the "set-up" of the sundial type thing and the petroglyph used to indicate when to plant!

the sunlight shines through the crevice of the rock on the left

see the petroglyph where the point of the light will indicate its time for planting 

more petroglyphs

another view of the Puebloan ruins -100 rooms!

rooms and a kiva here

more rooms

amazing 

Moving on to the next point of interest, we stopped at Newspaper Rock, where there is a large concentration of petroglyphs. We could see them on the rocks as we looked down from the overlook. Again, signs everywhere to stay on the pavement only.

Newspaper Rock overlook

newspaper rock

another "page" of the newspaper

The "Teepee" area was cool as well. The colors are so striking! The landscape was beginning to change a bit, and we knew we were in for a treat by the time we got to the Blue Mesa Loop Road.

so cool!

this landscape is just stunning

wow!

so cool...and lots of petrified wood here too

The Blue Mesa Loop Road is about 2.5 miles and has several viewpoints. I wish I could capture the colors a little better. Once again, my photos don't really do the scene justice.  There were lots of petrified logs here as well. Just incredible scenery. Otherworldly.

giant petrified log 

beautiful view

more petrified trees here 

such a cool place!

see the fallen log?

more incredible views

wow..wow..wow

One of the short hikes we were looking forward to was the Blue Mesa hike, a 1 mile trail through the gorgeous chinle formations, sprinkled with petrified wood. The beginning of the trail is paved, and offers really nice overlook views.

the Blue Mesa area

ready for a little hike in this weather?

awesome

heading down the trail

a view of the trail going down

view from the trail

nice!

Once the pavement changes, the trail starts heading down, winding around those gorgeous formations to get to the bottom. I had a little freakouts, but my hero got me through. Lots of hand-holding and baby steps, but only in one area. I considered turning around and waiting for Tom to explore on his own, but I somehow found the bravery to continue and was sure glad I did. Those few tense minutes were worth it!

you o.k. Susie?

nooooo...I'm not ok!

the views were great going down though

ahhh...ok...the trail is manageable now for me

oh man....your hands were so wet with sweat.....gross

hey, what can I tell ya? I was scared and its hot as Hades

Our walk became otherworldly as we gawked at the scenery. The petrified logs we saw added to the experience. It was pretty hot by now, with the sun beating down, so we did not linger too long at too many places. If it was a nice Fall day, it would have been a different story! We had the place to ourselves, once again. We are spoiled now.

otherworldly

this is awesome...

exploring 

what an awesome walk through this beauty

this way

Thank you so much for getting me down here Tom!!!  (My hero!)

beautiful

petrified logs all over the place too

so cool

Again, the colors were so striking. And the petrified wood glowed! So very nice! A beautiful walk through the Blue Mesa!

wow oh wow!

such bright and shiny petrified logs!

love the stripes!!

a huge chunk of petrified tree

close up

such a cool landscape

look at those colors!

here comes Tom now! (I'm trying to beat the heat)

Once we finished the trail, going back up wasn't bad at all. No height issues and Tom didn't have to hold my sweaty hands....hahahha! Once back in the car and on the road again, we peeled ourselves out of the air-conditioned car to check out the overlook of where we had just been. The trail is visible from the overlook. I can tell you that the experience was so much better up close and personal, rather than from the overlook above, which was also pretty awesome.

see the trail down there?

another view of the trail

and more view of the trail

this looked out over the trail we just walked 

 Agate Bridge is supported by a concrete slab. Back in the day, when visitors would come to the park, they would walk or sit on this "bridge". It was a popular photo spot. Interesting to see the pictures in the Visitor Center.

Agate Bridge

The Jasper Forest Overlook gave us a view of so much petrified wood scattered across the land. It is a sight to see. Again, signs are posted so that visitors don't go down and explore on their own. I think the signs are effective because of the "citizen watch" program...with everyone entering the park  being given the "green card" to report wrong-doings.

Jasper Forest Overlook....see all the petrified wood down there?

so pretty!

Another short hike, under a mile, on our wish list was the Crystal Forest, aptly named for the scattering of pertrified logs sparkling away. What an awesome walk! It was getting pretty hot, and most of the other visitors to the park were turning around. We were good....and of course we were awed by what we were seeing so we just kept walking.

ready for another little walk in this heat?

how cool is that?

amazing stuff

isn't this fun Susie?

lots of sparkling going on in the sun!

pretty

 So glad we continued up the hill, when everyone else turned around. The petrified wood was gorgeous. I was surprised that they were all a little bit different too. Some had lots of red, while some were more pale blue. All were beautiful!

okay...its a little toasty!!

lots of red here

really cool-looking lizard

isn't that amazing?

a log erupting from the earth

the views all around are amazing

check out that long tree

nature's art

the long petrified log

We took our time walking along admiring the crystals. Sorry about all the photos, but the petrified logs were all so beautiful. They were sparkling so nicely in the bright sunlight too! We so enjoyed ourselves, despite the scorching sun and the uncomfortably hot temperature.

different colors here

isn't this incredible?

hot..hot..hot

beautiful!!

nature's work of art 

Lichens growing on this one! Haven't seen too much of that

beautiful landscape 

really enjoying this park!

view across the parking lot

Our last stop was the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center, where we took the short loop to see the Giant Logs. One of the logs is referred to as "Old Faithful", and is the showcase log being almost 10 feet across the base. The logs on this loop were all pretty large, and of course, colorful. What a beautiful park!

Giant Logs live here

so colorful!

another cactus flowering 

heading out along the trail

pretty big petrified tree

there's the biggest one  "Old Faithful"...behind me to the left

very colorful!!

watch your step

another giant petrified tree

skipping up the steps!!!!

so pretty!

another huge petrified log

"Old Faithful"-showcase piece in the park

very cool!

entering Holbrook city limits...great artwork!

Being that we got such an early start in the park, we were back home again by lunchtime. Perfect. Especially since the temperatures were in the 90's. Not my favorite. Anyway, no peanut butter today, but rather a tuna creation I found on Pinterest. Hahahha. Another way to have tuna!! Tom loved it too! Very refreshing and filling. Tuna, avocado, tomato, pepper, onion, lettuce, oil/vinegar. Simple. Just my style..hahahah.

what? no peanut butter and crackers?

Doesn't that look great? Looks like the picture on Pinterest!