A 3 hour drive away from Santa Fe found us in Arizona, a gorgeous, mountainous area along I-40. Again, I was surprised. I don't know what I expected,however.
We entered many Indian Nations, which were obvious by their: Cheap gas, Casinos, and crappy housing. How did a proud people end up as the "go-to" McDonald's workers?
Having made good time, I stopped at a Navajo shop, "Chees" and purchased some more "indian made" jewelry for "chee-p". The young girl proudly told me she had made the earrings I bought. Her sister had crafted the necklaces which paid for her way to college. Proud sister and grandma!
Unfortunately, we think that Kirsten's personal belongings were stolen from the van while we shopped at dusk...kids in and out of the desolate parking lot....Michael is now telling us that he saw some girls hanging out. The worst of the loss is prescription medicine for asthma. Now we have a nebulizer and no meds! Nobody can use a bag with her name and her sorority initials, her Clemson mailbox key, her debit card, MY Discover card, and so forth! What a $400 pain, and for no gain for the thieves. There was NO cash in anything.
Hotels are few and far between along I-40 in that area. With the time change, I realized that I could tour the Petrified Wood Forest and Painted Desert before absolute dark.
What I didn't know is that the drive encompassed 28 miles!!
Soooo, at 7:34 we began our sightseeing with the proclamation that we must find the nearest park exit at 8 PM sharp! Rangers, we've found, OWN the National Parks, and mean business.
At 8:05we exited the car to view some petrified wood which I spotted with my halogen flashlight. We reloaded ourselves into the van, and began to drive out the turn-out, when I saw some beautiful stones and stopped the van. the kids, rolled out of the car, and we scampered down the embankment to view it. Kirsten snapped a flashlight lit photo and we marveled at the 300 million year old tree before us. Then I noticed the lights driving towards us in the vast expanse of windblown grass, rock, hills, cactus.
We immediately scampered up the 5 ft embankment, including me who was hauling Ben around. By the time the Nazi Ranger arrived, I was pointing a flashlight at the rock saying, "Look, kids! There it is! 300 million years old!" The cop informed me that we needed to find the nearest exit: 10 miles away, and....that I should NEVER stop on the road!!! serious accidents have occurred that way. I looked around for a car within 50 miles...and said, "Yes, M'am!"
----back to the present....
We're 90 minutes away from Alexander Valley Winery, near Mendocino National Park. It has become very mountainous and heavily treed. John is concerned with the lack of guard rails. He hasn't been to Grand Canyon, obviously! LOL! We're drive up and down and around. Rebekah says it looks fun to drive: possibly so in a red Corvette! Steep mountain walls flank us along with treed drop offs. It's not raining Yeah!!
Back to the Petrified Wood Forest. We exited the park after I finished the drive at 50 miles an hour in a 40 mph speed zone, through the flats. I did stop at the end just to experience the stillness, but for a hare crossing the road. Even Ben was quiet., although he didn't understand the reason.
Good luck comes our way!!! The next day, I pulled out the Petrified Wood Forest information card: $50-350 fines for going off the path! good thing we climbed that embankment at double speed!
My! My! What happened to the trees? Now we're at the top of a mountain range, and the meadows have appeared. i think I have a wine tasting headache, and my ears are popping. A skunk perfumes the area!
I'll post while I have 4g!!!
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