Arizona – A place of wonder- The Painted Desert

A place to buy great presents!

Arizona – A Place of Wonder!

Part 1: The Painted Desert

Crossing the line to Arizona we went into the visitor's bureau where we talked to the director, Roxanne. She was a Navaho Indian and proudly shared with us the sights we should see. We were planning to go only to see the Grand Canyon but she insisted we stop and to the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. She also said that as seniors we could get a pass for $10 that would be good at any other National Park. So we bought the package and set out to find the Painted Desert.

Stopping at a rest stop on the way, we met people from Tennessee who were traveling in a huge, red, tour bus with Tennessee Tours written on the side. They seemed to be going to the same sights as we were, and we were bound to see them often in the few days to follow. They were going on the Route 66 and then to San Francisco. The tour had them stop at hotels along the way. They all seemed pretty contended as they traveled in air conditioning and had TV for entertainment. We ran into this group at the next stop which was a curio shop along the highway where you could buy presents and mementos of the trip. We stopped here and got some presents for Lynda, Jake, and Berkeley.

John and his new friend Roxanne

The Painted Desert and Petrified Forrest were self-guided tours that you did following a map given to us by Roxanne. As we approached the guard house we were waved on with our Senior Card. We drove seeing sage brush and not much else for a while and we thought maybe we had been duped into this route. When suddenly we turned the corner and the sight took our breath away. The earth suddenly took on the most amazing colors as if a master artist had a field day. We got out of the car and took pictures that were amazing. The pictures do not even do justice to actually seeing the different shades of pinks and reds in the rock formations. We continued our drive and stopped at the Navaho house where John picked up a pamphlet on how to become a Junior Ranger and handed it to me with the challenge to see if I could fulfill the requirements. It looked pretty interesting so I said, "Great!"

We follow the tour eventually getting to the Petrified Forest. We were amazed for the second time that day as we saw great chunks of wood that had been made into rock. Again we took pictures of the colors imbedded in rock that was organic matter. We hiked around the whole area where these trees had lived when this part of the world was in the tropical zone. As it happened, North and South America were joined with Europe into one land mass. This part of the world was about where we find the equator today. There was also a large inland sea so much of the land that is now Utah down to Arizona was underwater. I remember when we lived in Utah it was possible to go hiking up the hills and find tiny sea shells and fossils.

Sample of a petroglyph

We stopped at one point of interest where there were petroglyphs that were visible through telescopes set up for viewers to see. We share the site with a group of youngsters from a nearby reservation. The group had driven three hours in three minivans to get here. The reservation elders felt it was most important for the young teens to know everything about their culture including knowledge of the land and the primitive peoples that came before them. The kids seemed to be enjoying the trip as we talked to them by their cars. Just like kids anywhere they were listening to rap on the radio and were pretty hip.

We continued our drive to the Information Center and I only had half of my form filled. I was hoping to get some answers here or I would never get to be a Junior Ranger. I expressed my concern to the real Ranger at the desk and she said to go and view the film and then look about the exhibits and then go outside to find the rest of the answers. That seemed a lot of research and John was regretting having mentioned "Junior Ranger" to me. I, however, was getting excited as we went in and saw the film which turned out to be most informative. They had an animated section showing how the logs were swept down river and settled into the silt. As time went by the minerals in the soil permeated the organic matter in the tree and formed a solid rock. The film also mentioned the prehistoric animals that were living in this habitat and I knew there were lots of questions regarding these animals on my form. When the film was over we went out to look for the giant tree. We hiked until we found a section that looked like a forest with a great many large trees lying undisturbed. The rangers are ever on the alert for people taking any rocks. The film even showed a guy get hand cuffed when they found some rocks in his pocket. So though it was tempting, we simply took pictures. One question asked for me to put my arms around the largest tree and see much circumference was left to cover. So I found a large tree and did the bear hug while John guestimated the rest of the tree. Now all needed to do was find out about the animals in the museum. Jake, our grandson, would love to be here to see this exhibit. I know he may not know these unusual animals though he knows many by name. Several of the animals on display were similar to the Alligator of present day. And some looked like the typical prehistoric carnivores from Jurassic Park. I finally completed my form and triumphantly went up to the desk to have the ranger check it out. She said it was fine and had me do the oath of the Junior Ranger and got my badge which I shall wear proudly.

Teens from the Navaho Reservation taking the tour.

A sample of petrivied wood

A Junior Ranger  - at Last!



Mary infront of the Painted Desert