Greetings from Holbrook, AZ!

vraiblonde · Jul 28, 2019

Yikes! What a crappy rundown one-horse town! Monello needs a present for suggesting we spend only a week here and go back to Flagstaff for the rest.

Our campground is okay, though. Level and spacious, not particularly attractive and definitely not Flagstaff caliber, but the wifi is strong and we have cable, so that's something. There's a pool we'll most likely enjoy, and it's a hopskip to Petrified Forest, which is why we're here in the first place.

Tonight we had terrible Mexican at some dive on Navajo. I didn't think they were allowed to have bad Mexican food in Arizona, but this area is predominantly Native American so it makes more sense. But you'd think they'd have American Indian restaurants with frybread and Three Sisters soup and roasted meats instead of crappy Mexican.

Anyway, we don't expect a lot of excitement here. We'll do Petrified Forest, do laundry, swim, and kill time until we're back in Flagstaff.

vraiblonde · Aug 1, 2019

Holbrook looks like this:

And this:

This is kind of interesting:

They have a lot of places where you can buy rocks and petrified wood. I don't know how they make a living.

GWguy · Aug 1, 2019

vraiblonde said:
I don't know how they make a living.

By selling rocks and petrified wood?

vraiblonde · Aug 1, 2019

The other day we went to Winslow, AZ. The town revolves around the song "Take It Easy" and Eagles music plays nonstop in all the stores. It's good for an hour of touring, including lunch at the diner.

It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford...

vraiblonde · Aug 1, 2019

GWguy said:
By selling rocks and petrified wood?

But...to who? Is there that big a market for rocks and wood?

GWguy · Aug 1, 2019

vraiblonde said:
But...to who? Is there that big a market for rocks and wood?

Dumb tourists will buy anything.

Hey, bring me back a rock!

:lol:

RoseRed · Aug 1, 2019

GWguy said:
Dumb tourists will buy anything.

Hey, bring me back a rock!

The new pet rocks?

vraiblonde · Aug 3, 2019

Yesterday we took the ride through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. GORGEOUS! Petrified Forest is like, meh, wood chunks turned to stone laying around.

It's interesting for about 10 minutes unless you're really into geology. The interiors of the logs are pretty cool because they're all different, with varying minerals making beautiful designs:

Then you get into the Painted Desert and holy cow!

It's like a 30 mile loop that takes you through both areas and puts you back on I-40. There are a few stops with things of interest - the Painted Desert Inn and Agate Bridge - but mostly you just gawk at the beauty and vastness of the park. At the overlooks you can see for miles, nothing but nature and desert and land formations.

I know I harp all the time about dinosaurs but it's true: in congested areas you can't even imagine a 40 foot tall monster living there with all his pals, but out west you can definitely picture it. It really changes your perspective and brings history up close and personal.

It also gives you a climate lesson with regard to geology. Back in the day - before humans were invented - this desert (and pretty much everything else) was covered with water. It was already evaporating and land formations were emerging and breaking off long before man came along. Because the earth, you know, changes. It's always been changing and it always will be. That's not opinion, it's fact. Humans don't "cause" it and there's nothing we can do about it. Climate hysterics really need to get some education and stop being such tweaks.

Mini lesson for anyone who cares: