Day 17 - May 22nd
We are in Holbrook, AZ and have to go to Williams, AZ. This is only a 2 hour trip, but we need to catch up from what we did not do yesterday.
After breakfast at the hotel, we headed out to Petrified Forest National Park. On the way, we stopped at a petrified wood store. We were looking for a petrified wood wind chime Amy had wanted. There were so many beautiful things in this store, but no petrified wood wind chimes. We bought a few things, but decided to check out the park store before buying any of the agate wind chimes they had.
Historic Site #12 - Petrified Forest National Park
We got into the park and went straight to the Rainbow Forest Museum Visitor Center to look around and watch the movie.
We walked the Giant Log trail which was right behind the the museum. The pieces of petrified wood were absolutely incredible!
We got into the car and drove the 28 mile scenic drive from south to north. We stopped at different overlooks to take in the sights and get some photos, but did not hike the trails. Most of the stops allowed you to see from the overlook or else the trails were over a mile long.
When we got to the north end, we drove the road to see the Painted Desert. We found out that the Painted Desert is not a separate park but rather is considered part of Petrified Forest National Park. The colors were beautiful.
We next went to the Painted Desert Inn National HIstoric Landmark and toured through it and the views from outside. This inn once served as a place for travelers to stop at along historic Route 66.
Finally, we ended up at the Painted Desert Visitor Center. We ate lunch at the little cafe there which had a Route 66 theme. We looked in the park shop and still no wind chimes of any kind. We went ahead and left to head back to Holbrook.
We stopped at several petrified wood places along the way and in Holbrook, but the selection was much better at the original shop. One of the stops was very scary. Pictures will speak volumes. However, the people inside were quite lovely.
Now that we had seen what our options were, we went back to the original shop and did quite a bit of shopping. The pieces of petrified wood were so beautiful it was hard to make choices. When we asked about the petrified wood wind chimes, we were told that the petrified wood was too fragile when it was sliced thin enough to make the wind chimes. So we settled on an agate wind chime for Amy after talking with her and explaining. Our car was carrying a much heavier load.
On the way out of Holbrook, we passed by the Wigwam Motel. This was the one that was featured in the movie, Cars. Outside some of the wigwams were old antique cars to provide the ambiance. Although we wouldn't choose to stay there, there were some cars and motorcycles belonging to guests.
We decided to drive straight to Williams, AZ because it was getting late. We had planned to stop at Walnut Canyon National Monument to see some cliff dwellings, but realized we weren't going to make it in time.
Once we got on the west side of Flagstaff, it started to snow. We had left the Petrified Forest in short sleeves and jeans/shorts. Now it was snowing! The roads were coated and the shoulders of the road had snow covering. Although we were very excited to see snow, Dean had to be careful driving because the road was slippery. It snowed for about 10 miles and then it was over and the sun was out.
One of things we noticed while driving was that when there was an accident ahead and the emergency teams responded, one person took "Accident Ahead" signs in his/her truck and put one on both ends of the road affected.
We got into Williams, AZ and it began to rain. We went to our hotel, the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel. It was quite the place with lots and lots of people. We got there about 5:30 pm and the train arrived about 5:45. We got in the registration line just in time. Our package deal we bought included 2 nights lodging at the hotel, 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts, a train ride to and from the Grand Canyon, and a motorcoach tour while we were at the canyon.
Once we checked in, we headed to the Grand Depot Cafe for dinner. Both dinners and breakfasts were huge buffets with made to order omelet/pasta stations as well as a great variety of choices. The chef manned the meat carving station himself. One night he sliced sirloin steaks and the next night it was filet mignon. The were cooked to perfection and so tender. We really enjoyed the food while we were there.
We enjoyed the warmth from the fire in the fireplace while we ate. Since it was still raining when we finished, we decided to go back to the room for the evening. We warmed up, checked out the weather forecast for the next day at the Grand Canyon, and went to bed.
Day 16 - May 21st
We finally got the car washed! Dean had been trying to get the van washed since our first night in Spanish Fort, AL. Love bugs had done a real number on the van. He wanted a full service car wash that would scrub the bugs off. Of course, all he could find was the do-it-yourself kind! He had gotten some of the bugs off by hand, but in every city, we looked for full service car washes. Dean was a happy camper!
Before we left town, we made our third appearance at PIMA Air and Space Museum. This time it was just for Robin to run in and buy a different sized t-shirt. Dean was gracious enough (or knew he didn't stand a chance if he didn't) to agree to this last stop!
We had been searching for a Cracker Barrell for awhile and found one north of Tucson. We enjoyed a good breakfast before driving on.
Historic Site #10 - Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
As we drove, we saw signs for Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Since it was on our way, we decided we would stop. We did and learned some very interesting information about the building practices, tribal community, and way of life of these people.
The ancient Sonoran Desert people (Hohokam Indians) built the Casa Grande (big house) and a surrounding compound over 1000 years ago. They started off as hunters and gatherers, but soon began to shift to farming. The problem they had was not enough water to grow their crops. They used crude tools to dig canals to drain water from the Gila River to their lands. Archeologists have discovered evidence that these people developed wide-scale irrigation farming and extensive trade connections.
The Casa Grande was about four stories tall. The Hohokam Indians used caliche soil to make the structure, forming the walls all by hand. HIstorians are unsure what this big house was used for since it had many different sized rooms. Small structures housed groups of people, probably families. The large shelter structure has been added to help preserve these ruins.
We left there and headed toward another national monument which we had planned. The landscape we saw along the way changed quickly, sometimes more than 4-5 different looks within a 10 minute period.
When we came to Miami, AZ, we spied land that looked like it was being mined. It wasn't long before we saw a sign that said, "Miami, AZ...copper mining capital of the world."
We drove passed a big lake and found out it was Lake Roosevelt. This was the largest man-made reservoir at one time. The lake was really pretty and so inviting. Many people were taking advantage of this for recreational purposes.
There were lots and lots of saguaros in this area, covering the sides of the hillsides. These saguaros were all very similar to each other without a whole lot of variation. They were very tall and straight with very upright stalks. We were very impressed with the quantity and quantity of saguaros. We felt there were just as many here as we had seen in both of the Saguaro National Park districts, only these weren't as unique.
Historic Site #11 - Tonto National Monument
Pretty soon, we entered the Tonto National Forest and then Tonto National Monument. As we got to the Visitor Center, we climbed the stairs to the upstairs outside patio. There we were able to watch the park's movie about the cliff dwellings that were in the park. We were able to view one of the cliff dwellings from afar, but did not climb the steep and lengthy path to get a closer look. We talked with the park rangers about the history of these cliff dwellings and the surrounding areas.
Once we left Tonto National Monument, we passed Lake Roosevelt Dam. It maintains the water level of Lake Roosevelt. As we continued on toward Payton, AZ, we saw many interesting sight. First we spied a roadrunner along the side of the road. Next, we found a "boot" tree. The tree had very little foliage, but had lots and lots of different kinds of boots tied to its bare branches. Why was it there? Who knows. We continued a little further and found a RV park. What was unique? It advertised on its front fence gas, groceries and cocktails. Interesting!
Dean's favorite sighting was the Elk Testing Zone signs. For the next ten minutes, jokes and sarcasm were flying about finding the elk school with desks, trying to train the elk to cross at the pedestrian walks, having elk crossing guards and many more. It was pretty funny how signs can mislead the general public about projects.
We arrived at our destination in Holbrook, AZ around 8:00 pm. The Quality Inn was the only brand name hotel we had found in Holbrook when we made reservations. It was like a blast from the past, but was clean and available for the night. We hadn't seen sun lamps in the bathrooms for quite some time.
Again, we were hungry so were directed to the Mesa Restaurant for Italian food. We probably wouldn't have gone there on our own, but with the strong recommendation from the hotel staff, we gave it a try. It was very romantic inside with candlelight and flowers on the table. The cloth table cloths were covered with clear plastic vinyl, but were clean. Dean was very quick to point out, "only the best for you!" Well, the best part was the food. It was extremely tasty and large portions. Although we didn't need so much food that late at night, we certainly enjoyed what we ate.
We headed back to the hotel and went to bed. This was the first day we had really not accomplished everything we had wanted to do. We were scheduled to go to the Petrified Forest National Park, but just couldn't drive the six hours it would have taken us in just driving time alone in addition to park time. We decided we would head there first thing in the morning before moving on from Holbrook.
