2006 RV Trip Diaries - Flagstaff, Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

                                                                                                                                                                                      

September 24, 2006 - Sunday

Went to an old church in Williams.  Stayed in the RV park most of the rest of the day.  Got the washing done.

September 25, 2006 - Monday

Today we drove the 30 miles from our RV park at Williams to Flagstaff, AZ.  It's a town about the size of Fairbanks but with much more warm sunshine.  We explored the historic section of town including the old railroad station and lots of the same kinds of shops, pizza parlors, and fast food restaurants that we've seen at every other tourist town so far on this trip.  Compared to Sedona and, of course, the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff is sort of "ho-hum."  But still - there is the warm sunshine every day.  That's pretty nice.

September 26, 2006 - Tuesday

Drove to Holbrook, AZ to camp.  After leaving the Coconino National Forest the land became very flat and you could see forever. 
We are near the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert and tomorrow will drive through those National Parks.

September 27, 2006 - Wednesday

The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert were pretty and educational.  We both expected the Petrified Forest to be a forest where trees that had turned to stone stood vertically as we experienced with the lava encased trees in Hawaii. 

We learned that the trees are lying on the ground where they once were at the bottom of an ocean.  They were washed there by floods and covered by sediment of silt, mud and volcanic ash.  Petrified wood's varied colors came from minerals in the silica-saturated waters.  Iron, carbon, manganese, and sometime cobalt, and chromium produced patterns and blends of yellow, red, black, blue, brown, white and pink.  While covered for a couple hundred million years, a chemical process took place that changed the trees' composition to that of quartz, and other minerals.

The picture at right and below right show typical petrified trees.  The one directly below is called the Agate Bridge.  In the early 20th century the square concrete support was built under it to keep it in place.

Over 1,000 years ago the people living in this area enjoyed chipping petroglyphs in large rocks.  Today the rock in the following pictures is called Newspaper Rock.  We don't know what they were saying with their pictures but it is clear that they were here.

Just beyond Newspaper Rock is the Painted Desert

The Painted Desert above and to the left was made up of beautiful colors mostly reds stained by iron oxide, also called hematite. Among the mesas, "tepees", and hills in the desert were petrified logs and log pieces.