Petrified Forest National Park

We left Grants New Mexico on our way west. We made a scheduled stop at the Petrified Forest National Park. It's a road 26 miles long that sarts with a view of the painted desert an then cross the the 40 with a marker to the old road 66 and then passes trough a desert littered with petrified logs.

The Painted Desert

A tribute to road 66

The Park road near the Teepee Formation

Here is an explanation of the process that I copied from Wikipedia :
The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees that lived in the late triasic, about 225 million years ago. The sediments containing the fossil logs are part of the widespread and colorful Chinle Formation, from which the Painted Desert gets its name. Beginning about 60 million years ago, the Colorado Plateau, of which the park is part, was pushed upward by tectonic forces and exposed to increased erosion. All of the park's rock layers above the Chinle, except geologically recent ones found in parts of the park, have been removed by wind and water.

Petrified Logs at Blue Water Mesa

During this period, the region that is now the park was near the equator on the southwestern edge of the supercontinent Pangaea, and its climate was humid and sub-tropical. What later became northeastern Arizona was a low plain flanked by mountains to the south and southeast and a sea to the west. Streams flowing across the plain from the highlands deposited inorganic sediment and organic matter, including trees as well as other plants and animals that had entered or fallen into the water. Although most organic matter decays rapidly or is eaten by other organisms, some is buried so quickly that it remains intact and may become fossilized.

Detail of the mineralisation of the petrified wood

At Crystal Forest

We left and headed west, as we approached Flagstaff we could see that the big mountains were smoking, we later learned after driving trough the mountain pass in the smoke that they were doing a control burn. My wife started to have difficulties with her ashma so we kept on going west. We finally stopped for the night in Seligman on road 66.

El Morro National Monument

El Morro National Monument is a huge sandstone formation on an ancient trail in New Mexico there is the ruins of an ancient zuni pueblo on top of it. The formation was easy to find and was a favorite stop because it offered shelter and water for travelers over the centuries.

It became customary for these travellers to carve their names and messages in the rock it started in the 13th and 14th century with the pueblo indians they called the place "A'ts'ina" meaning the place with writing on the rocks.

Later after Francisco Coronado started exploring the Rio Grande valley in 1540  the spanish conquistador started using that road and keept using it well into the 18th century they called the place "El Morro" the Headland and they left their marks as well.

Then as the west was developped in the second half of the 19th century the Americans where the ones that started leaving their marks on the formation and they called it Inscription Rock this lasted until 1906 when it became a national monument and federal laws made new carvings illegal.

From Amarillo TX. to Grants NM.:

Ye got up early enought our plan is to drive to Hollbrook Az. our longest drive yet over 900km. we gain two hours in time change but it's a long drive. After a few hours we are on the strech of road that I like the least with long climbs to cross mountain passes at over 11000 feet it hard to keep the truck from downshifting all the time and getting the RPM to high.

By the end of the afternoon we were exausted even the dog made us stop for nothing she just wanted the car ride to stop.

So we stopped in Grants New Mexico, I never stopped here and there is quite a bit to see, first of all we are parked in an ancient lava bed and there is two National monuments in the area El Malpais and El Moro there is also an iced cave.

The temperature dropped we are at 8000 feets and this morning it was 33F or 1C. The winds during the night were so strong that we could feel the trailer shaking.

All in a day: Oklahoma and Texas

So the day started good when whe left Arkansas this morning, We were doing good time until we stopped for lunch at which point we found out that a part of our hitch had fallen off, probably from the 100 miles of vibrating road we had been on this morning. So we finaly found an RV repair place in Elk City Oklahoma. To make a story short two hours later we were back on the road.

My wife asked me if we had enough gas to make it to Amarillo, we had 150 miles to go and the car computer indicater that I was good for 175 miles so I said we are OK. So after a construction zone and a weird road change indicated by the GPS we ended up 10 miles from our destination and with 8 miles left of gas. Needless to say there was a few I told you so and I'm not the one walking 2 miles in the boondocks to go get some gas (also I didn't now yet where the gas station was, it was actualy 2 miles past my destination) so when the computer counted down to 0 we repeated the I told you so etc... An interesting fact you can drive another 4 miles on fumes when it's indicated that you have 0 gas.

So we finally got to the campsite at sunset. After we set up we called the Big Texan Steak Ranch and they sent a Limo to pick us up, the real thing with a cowboy driver and horns in the front.

 When we got there ther was two guys trying for the 72 ounces free steak challenge but they didn't make it. Me I had the anniversary special 1/4 the size so only 18 ounces. We took the Limo back, I'm going to bed and I intend to snore all night :)

Tomorrow we cross New Mexico.

Nashville : Music City

This morning we went downtown to visit the city, we started with the visit of Studio B the oldest surviving recording studio in the city it is located in the part of the city know as music row. Full of history it was the place where many hits by many artists were receorded over the years.

We also visited the Country Music Hall of Fame also a very interesting visit 3 floors full of history. Also a big archive preserving the past for the future.

For lunch we went on Broadway and Fifth at Robert's Western World next to Tootsie Orchid Lounge where there was a live band and we had a good time.

In the evening we had tickets for the Grand Ol Opry great place and a great show, it was Charlie Daniels 75th birthday and it made the evening extra special.
Tommorow whe hit the road again.

Day two: From Pensylvania to Tennesse

So yesterday was an other driving day with rain in the mountains. We drove 1600 km or 1000 miles so far. We are now a short 3h00 drive from Nashville. We stopped in a Walmart an replaced the coffee maker, life is wonderfull again.

First Day

It started well we did no suffer much delay at the border, now we know the trick leave with an empty fridge and do the grocery in Platsburg, they have a nice grocery store. Then back on the road, I took the corner a bit tight, jumped the curb and emptied the cupboard on the floor. The main casualty was the coffe maker.

Whe then arrived at the campsite near howe's cavern but surprise it was closed for the season.

So we visited the caverns that were very interesting, even with a nice boat ride on an underground river. Well worth the detour, also I found a new road the 88 that is very nice.

After the visit we drove for 285 miles and arrived at a campsite in Pensylvania near Harrisburg around 23h00 and went strait to bed.

Today it's raining but we are closer to our Nashville destination.