Petrified Forest National Park

On the drive out to the Petrified Forest we drove by an iconic Route 66 motel known as the Wigwam Motel #6.

Wigwam Motel

There are fifteen teepee shaped motel rooms. In front of the rooms are old classic cars.

Wigwam rooms with cars

The rooms are bigger then they look from the outside. I took a quick picture inside when a maid was cleaning the bathroom. They charge about $50.00 a night to stay.

Inside the teepee

We continued on Route 66 to the Petrified Forest.

Petrified Forest National Park

It is really amazing that these pieces of wood have turned into rock. The logs were in oxygen free silt. Water with silica ran through it and converted the wood to quartz. They look like logs, but feel like rocks.

Big logs

This area is called the Crystal Forest. Much of the insides of these logs had crystallized. Through the years many people have taken the good samples before the parks service started protecting it.

Crystal Forest

Here is a sample of the Crystallized wood.

Crystallized Wood

In this slice of wood you can still see the age rings of the tree. It looks in many of the trees like someone has cut them, but because the quartz is so brittle they crack and break in these pieces.

Age Rings

We came across these rock outcroppings with these amazing views. As you can see Patty is more comfortable standing here then I am. The next picture will show you why!

Nice view

Here is where we are standing....

Patty on the Rocks!

This area is called the Teepee's because of the cone shapes of the hills. Pretty neat with the different colors.

The Teepee's

When we were in Southern Arizona we viewed many Sinagua Indian Ruins. Here in North East Arizona the Puerco Ruins are from the Anasazi Indians.

Puerco Ruins

This little fellow was running around the ruins. Life continues in the desert!

Lizard on Ruins

There were many Petroglyphs at the site also. Probably from the Anasazi as well as Navajo and other tribes.

Petroglyphs

Today was an all day event. Starting at the Petrified Forest and ending at the Painted Desert. There were multiple viewpoints and hiking trails.

Painted Desert

Unfortunately the pictures cannot do the views justice. They were magnificent!

Painted Desert

As we were leaving the Painted Desert we found this 'Historical Landmark' bench. You can see an old rusty car in the background. It sits on the old original Route 66.

Route 66

Thats it for today. We thank you for reading our blog and hope you are enjoying it.

Blessings to you all!

God Bless,

Brian and Patty