Peppy's Dream Moving Adventure Blog

Nothing gets you out of bed like the thought of “All You Can Eat Pancakes!”  We usually get up around 9:00am, but today we were out of bed by 7:30am, took showers, got dressed and were over to the outdoor breakfast concession stand by a little after 8:00am.  It was REALLY cold out, even though we’re in Arizona!  We heard there’s been a heat wave in New York.  We believe the weather’s been better in New York than in Arizona!  Anyway, it was too cold for us to eat outside (although lots of other people were sitting at the picnic benches nearby), so we went back to the RV and had breakfast.  It was really good and we were stuffed.

We left for the PETRIFIED FOREST even though Eric was less-than-enthusiastic about it.  He just didn’t understand how there could be a forest when all you could see for miles and miles was desert and shrubs.

We drove for about a half hour before reaching the entrance, but found out that you pass through about 20 miles of the PAINTED DESERT and tour the PAINTED DESERT INN before reaching the PETRIFIED FOREST. 

The Painted Desert was really beautiful.  There was a big basin called “the Badlands,” which is a dried-up lake bed which left smooth, colorful hills with horizontal stripes of oranges, reds, greens, whites, yellows, etc.

The Painted Desert Inn, built of petrified wood and other native stone, is a 30-room building that was originally a tourist attraction offering food, liquor and a shop for Native American crafts in the 1920s.  It has been beautifully restored and now serves as a museum and souvenir shop selling all authentic Indian crafts.

The panels of glass in the ceiling represent original art found on Native American pottery:

These are the men who built the Painted Desert Inn.

We finally reached the Petrified Forest and both Eric and I were so impressed. 

The tree trunks are all laying down and broken into large and small pieces.  From afar they look like regular tree trunks, but upon closer inspection, you can see that they are rock and not wood.  If you try to move a log, you can see that it weighs hundreds of pounds. 

Can you believe this is a tree trunk?

They look so out of place that Eric said they must have been brought in from another location, but we read about it and found out that they were buried millions of years ago and have slowly been uncovered by erosion.  Some of the logs could just barely be seen sticking out from the ground, leading us to believe there are probably thousands more still buried.

They look like wood, but appearances can be deceiving!

There were certain areas where you could actually touch the petrified wood and see them up close.  The colors of the trunks, which are now stone or rock, were magnificent.  Eric felt it was somewhat surreal, because these petrified trees seem so out of place in the desert.

There are signs everywhere that federal law prohibits collection or removal of petrified wood or any natural, archeological, or historical object from its setting.  Violators will be fined, imprisoned, or both.  They actually give you a form when you enter, which you must fill out if you witness anyone stealing rocks. 

Eric kept picking up little pieces (pebble sized) and I kept saying, “put that down or I’ll turn you in.”  I also kept watching other people saying, “I’ve got my eye on him.”  I can understand why they don’t want people stealing, because I’m sure before they made these laws people would throw entire logs in the back of their trucks and display them in their homes.  It’s just not appropriate to remove anything from it’s natural habitat, whether it’s an animal or a rock!

We hiked around for a while then returned to the RV, where we made friends with a giant black crow.  He was so used to people that he let us get within 10 feet without moving.  Then, when we got closer, instead of flying away, he simply walked further down the wall where he was sitting, so he could keep us at a safe distance.  He sat and crowed (which crows are known to do) much to our amusement.

Finally, we headed west on I-40 to our next destination – Williams, Arizona, which is just 50 miles from the Grand Canyon.  Williams is famous for having Route 66 run through it.

In 1926, U. S. Highway 66 was established through Williams, Arizona. A little over half a century later, on October 13th, 1984, it became the last bypassed town along the "Mother Road," as old Highway 66 became Interstate 40.

Today, all of downtown Williams is on the National Register of Historic Places, and its largely-unchanged main street evokes images of the legendary route. Williams the town is also like a slice of small-town America, a place where they still hold a local beauty queen contest, and seven visiting travel writers make the local paper.

We went to the Visitor’s Information Center, where they had a lovely little museum and gave us lots of great information about mountain biking in the area, going to the Grand Canyon, and local tourist attractions.

We then registered at the GRAND CANYON RAILWAY RV PARK, which is FABULOUS.  It’s probably the nicest RV park we’ve been in.  I guess it’s because it’s relatively new and because it’s next to the nicest hotel in town.  It’s also packed with giant RVs.  Ours is, by far, the smallest one in the park.  The bathrooms are to die for!  Too bad we could only get a reservation for tonight, because 80 rigs are pulling in tomorrow (I guess because it’s Columbus Day).  So, we have to move to another RV park tomorrow, which is about ½ mile away.  It won’t be as beautiful, I’m sure, but we’re hoping it will be nice!

After settling in, Eric worked on his bike, so he would be ready for a mountain bike ride tomorrow.  Then, we headed out to Route 66, just about ½ mile away, to do a little shopping and eat dinner. 

Eric at a local souvenir/jewelry store, the Turquoise Tepee, playing cards with his new buddies:

Eric got a ROUTE 66 t-shirt and a KOKOPELLI t-shirt.  Kokopelli is Eric’s new best friend.  Since he rode KOKOPELLI’S TRAIL in Colorado Springs, we’ve seen him everywhere – Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and now Arizona.  We already bought a tiny hand-made ceramic fridge magnet, and a silver and turquoise key chain.

After shopping, we went across the street to the RED RAVEN RESTAURANT.  The minute I walked in, this restaurant appealed to me, because the walls were lined with plates, pictures, and a shelf, high above, lined with vases, bowls, pitchers, teapots, etc.  It was beautifully decorated.

Eric started with the Southwest Egg Rolls, stuffed with chicken and a savory mixture of southwest flavors, served with a creamy Chipotle sauce.  He followed that with the Crispy Shrimp salad (shrimp dipped in a light Tempura batter and deep fried to perfection, served on a bed of fresh salad greens lightly tossed with Ginger-Sesame dressing and topped with sprouts, red cabbage, tomato and red onion).

I had the Seafood Gumbo and grilled swordfish with a pineapple cranberry salsa, mashed potatoes and broccoli.  Everything was SO delicious.  We were so stuffed that we took our cappuccino chocolate mousse to go.

We drove around for a while, down Route 66, looking at all the great stores, hotels, motels, and restaurants.

We are not sure where we’re going tomorrow.  We’re sure we’re going to visit the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff (for mountain biking) and Sedona (for spa treatments for me and mountain biking for Eric), but we’re not sure in what order we’ll do all this!