On our way back from the Grand Canyon we stopped in Holbrook AZ to see some sights. It was very cold for Arizona in November, some days it didn’t even get above 35 degrees! We went to see the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert since you can see most of it from the car. The fossil trees were alive more than 200 million years ago. Ancient Arizona was hot, humid, lush and green. During the Triassic Period, 225 million years ago it was tropical. The petrified wood is very pretty and so many people were taking it that in the late 1880s Arizona Territory petitioned Congress to protect it so in 1906 President Roosevelt created the Petrified Forest National Monument and it became a National Park in 1962.
We took a short hike through the “Blue Badlands”. The colors just don’t show up in pictures but it was beautiful.
A 1932 Studebaker sits where Route 66 used to be.
In the park is the historic Painted Desert Inn. It is now a museum and you can’t stay there anymore. In the 1920s it was originally built with petrified wood. the adobe facade was done in the 1930s. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
People used to be able to stand out on this log but it’s not stable enough now. You can see where they built it up with concrete so it won’t fall down.
Bonnie & Bruceontheloose 