A Long Day in the Arizona Desert

Some days on a road trip are just a lot of driving to get somewhere. But this day was different, because I had so many different stops planned. As previously mentioned, the morning started early at the four corners. Then I headed across the Navajo Nation to the spectacular Canyon du Chelly.

I included it in my plans because  in addition to its national monument status, I had heard a glowing review of the place on NPR. It really is as beautiful as the Grand Canyon, just on a different scale.

All I had time for was a scenic drive along the south rim of the canyon. The red rocks in northern Arizona are so amazing. And the views were great!

The Navajo still live and use the land in the canyon, so in order to see it you need to hire a guide. I'd love to go back on a jeep tour one day.

And I'd love to check out these ruins one day, too. They look less scary than the ones at Mesa Verde.

After an hour or so exploring the canyon and checking out the visitor center, I headed back out on the road to reach my next stop, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park.

I was excited about this stop for several reasons: 1. My 6th grade teacher had also told us about petrified wood, which is basically rock that has turned to stone, which to my twelve-year-old ears was the coolest-sounding thing ever; 2. There is still an original Harvey Company store & cafe here; 3. Mary Coulter designed the Desert View Inn and her designs are amazing; 4. part of Route 66 passes through the park; and 5. I was going to see more petroglyphs.

The Painted Desert, which does change color with the light and is beautiful.

The Mary Coulter-designed building. I love how her work looks like it belongs.

More pretty desert.

Marking the old route

Old car from the Route 66 days

Telephone poles that used to line Route 66 but now stretch of into the desert oblivion

Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock. Supercool.

Petrified wood. There used to be a lot more, but people have stolen it over the years. 

Close-up. You can see all the minerals.

And lastly, here are some desert wildflowers. Which always amaze me, because I wilt in ten seconds in that heat. But these little guys are hardy and strong.

Cliff Dwellers

Mesa Verde National Park was not at all what I expected it to be.  For starters, despite it's name translating as "green table," I really didn't expect it to be so green.

 

I also didn't really expect it to be so interesting in terms of archaeology. I figured it would be cool to look at a few cliff-dwelling ruins. But instead I found an entire mesa-top's worth of excavated dwellings from different times in the ancestral Puebloans' history.

I was too chicken to climb down the ladders into any of these cliff-side ruins, but the park movie that talked about it helped me visualize. There's also a really fascinating museum up on the mesa with tons of artifacts.

The best part, though, was the campground. Mesa Verde has one of the darkest night skies in the country, and I have never seen anything so amazing. I could see millions of stars. I must have laid out watching them for hours. I want to go back just for that!