Traditions.....

7:12 am - Thursday - October 13th - Bishop, CA - 43° F, 39% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the northwesst.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today in Bishop, CA at the Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fairgrounds.  On this date in 2019 my son, Chris, and I were installing our new Winegard automatic HD dish at Ramona Oaks RV Resort.......↴ 

 

The drive south from Gardnerville, NV to Bishop, CA is only 156 miles, but packed into that 156 miles is some of the most beautiful scenery in the U.S.  Even though there are a lot of high elevation summits, and passes we must traverse as we wend our way southward, I look forward to it each time we do it.  However, I get ahead of myself.

The last time we filled our 180 gallon diesel tank to the full mark was on April 12, 2022....exactly six months ago.  The best price in town, according to Gas Buddy, was at the local 7/11 mini market at $4.99/gallon.  That is about .48 cents more per gallon than we paid six months ago.  At any rate we had only driven 408 miles since April 12th (round trip to Likely Place and back to Gardnerville) so I figured we would take on about 60 gallons.  We arrived at the 7/11 around 9:30 am, and by 10 am we had poured 64 gallons of fresh diesel into the tank to top it off costing us around $324.  I was able to get the first 20 gallons at the discounted Gas Buddy price of $4.92, but you can only pump $100 of fuel per day using the Gas Buddy card, so the final 44 gallons cost the $4.99/gallon I mentioned earlier.  Ulimately the $100 was reduced to $98.60.

We were back on US-395 a tad after 10 am and heading for our first summit of the day.....

....Simee Dimeh Summit sits at 5,797', and would be the lowest summit all day.....

....once over the summit we descent to Topaz Lake......

....and a short time later we re-entered California where we will be for the next 6 months at Glamis North.....

.....next up was the uphill climb along the Walker River.....

.....up to Devil's Gate Summit sitting at 7,519' before descending once again to Bridgeport, CA.....

....the first thing you see as you enter Bridgeport from the north is the Valero fuel station sporting some of the highest gas and diesel prices we have seen in 10.5 years of our nomadic life.....

....we took a 40 minute break in Bridgeport walking from one end of town to the other and back before continuing our journey to the next summit, and highest point on US-395.....

....if you hit this stretch of US-395 at the right time of year you will see rivers of gold in the form of quaking aspens flowing down the mountain valleys, and gorges......

....of course, no trip north or south on this stretch of US-395 will ever be complete without stopping at the vista point just south of the summit....the Mono Lake Vista point.  I believe it is against the law for a Hockwald to pass this vista point without stopping and taking a few pictures......I remember my parents stopping here each summer as we made our way to Lake Tahoe for a few weeks every year, and TLE and I have kept the tradition alive for the 51 years of our marriage.....

TLE took a short video of our descent from Conway Summit to Mono Lake

.....after passing through Lee Vining we continued south past Mammoth Lakes, coming eventually to Crawley Lake, where we do stop occasionally to take a break, and we did so this year.....

....we arrived safely, and without incident at the Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fairgournds around 2 pm, and within minutes had paid for a site for one night....site #188 in the middle of the field....

.....we'll continue on our way to SoCal Thursday morning, and should be at the Elks Lodge in Fontana by mid afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sacrilegious?

7:18 am - Wednesday - October 12th - Gardnerville Ranchos, NV - 39° F, 53% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the south......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 80° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were having lunch  (Kobe Beef sliders....yummm!) and some brews at Wenatchee Valley Brewing Company in Wenatchee, WA.....↴

We slept in Tuesday until after 7:30 am.  While it is not nearly as quiet here at the Elks Lodge in Gardnerville, it is still very quiet, and we slept wonderfully!  Our main reasons for spending two days here in Gardnerville was that TLE had an eye appointment at the Indian Hills COSTCO, I needed a haircut (there is a Supercuts nearby), we needed to top off our 180 gallon diesel tank before we enter California (diesel is $4.92/gallon here, and $6.29 where we are going), and the same for the VW.  Diesel and Premium unleaded are over a $1.25 more per gallon in SoCal than here.  Our plan as we head south each year is to always top off our tanks before we enter California, especially the diesel tank.  Why, because we can drive all the way to Glamis North Hot Springs (this year), and back into Nevada (Gardnerville) without having to fill our tank anywhere in California, and that saves us a lot of money!  Wednesday will mark the first time we've added diesel since April 12th, and after today we won't add diesel again until April of 2023....crazy!

TLE's eye appointment was at 10:30 am, so we left the Elks Lodge around 9:50 am to make the 25 minute drive.  I dropped TLE off in front of the COSTCO, while I headed over to the fuel station where Premium was going for $5.59/gallon (OUCH!).....it was only $5.39/gallon at the Casino in Alturas.  I wandered around COSTCO (there's always a lot to see, right?) while TLE had her eye appointment, when she was done we stocked up on some alcohol, and San Francisco Bay Coffee beans.  From there we headed to Supercuts for my haircut, and then to In 'N Out Burger......

Isn't she lovely?

......we always get the #2 combo (cheeseburger, fries, drink.....Dr. Pepper for moi, and 1/2 Diet Coke, 1/2 lemonade for TLE).  While TLE saved an alfresco table in the shade on the patio I put in our order, filled our drinks, and got some catsup for the fries.  It was a beautiful day in Indian Hills, so we just took our time eating, and enjoying pleasant conversation.

From there we headed over to Walmart to get a couple of things, then to Trader Joe's for a few more things we only buy there.  Not going to Trader Joe's when there is one nearby (just like In 'N Out Burger) almost seems sacrilegious....lol!

We were home around 2 pm, and while TLE put away our purchases I fiddled around in the trailer for a while.  When everything is put away in its place it is really hard to find stuff I need sometimes.  Anyway, I found what I was looking for, and then put everything back I had pulled out to find that for which I was looking.

Elaine has been trying to get me to play card games with her, and for the 10.5 years we've been vagabonds I have successfully resisted, but she finally convinced me to learn, and play a card game called 'Phase 10', which she plays daily with her good friend Darlene McCloud when we visit she and Tom in Wittmann, AZ each year.  I finally capitulated, and played my first game Sunday evening at the Honey Lake Rest Area.  I actually enjoyed it, but holding 10 cards in one's hand for hours on end makes one's thumb sore, so while we were at Walmart Tuesday TLE bought some card holders.....

.....I have to admit, 'Phase 10' is kind of addictive, and now with a card holder the sky is the limit for me....lol.  Tuesday night, after playing 'Phase 10' for the past two nights, we switched things up and played Backgammon.  After 4 games I was up 3-1, so TLE decided to call it a night, and hope for better results Wednesday night....lol!  My theory is that Backgammon is about 70% luck (how the dice fall), and 30% skill/strategy.  Luck was with me Tuesday night.

After 6  months of living in one place, even though we loved that place, it is nice to wake up to a new view each day, and to be moving again.....

Thanks for stopping by!

Leaving Winslow.....

6:22 am - Friday - February 8th - Camp Verde, AZ - 26º F, 51% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the north.......clear skies today with a forecast high of 59º F.

Our Jello plan was to roll our wheels by 9 am Thursday morning, but we beat that by 20 minutes.  It was a frigid overnight bottoming out at 17º F just before dawn.  After 12 days at the Elks Lodge in Winslow it was time to change our view.  Our main goal Thursday was to get our VW Beetle to Findlay VW as early in the day as possible so they could install the new seatbelt buckle, and air bag module.....

.....as we trundled westward gaining elevation mile by mile the San Francisco Mountains came into full view, and what a view it was.  After the two day snowstorm in Flagstaff the mountains are blanketed in a new layer of snow.  The 55 mile drive was effortless as we gained over 2,000' in elevation.  We arrived at the Home Depot parking lot just around the corner from Findlay about 9:45 am.  Within minutes we were dressed, had extracted the VW from the trailer, and were on our way over to Findlay.  We dropped off the car just before 10 am.....perfect!  

Originally we were to drop the car off the day (Tuesday) I had my outpatient surgery, but due to the snow storm in progress the part had not arrived so we rescheduled for Thursday hoping the part would arrive by then......as it turned out the parts delivery had occurred just a few minutes before our arrival.....perfect again!

We had about 5 hours to kill so we walked about a mile over to one of our favorites thrift stores, Savers, and spent over an hour going up one aisle and down another looking for that which we could not live without.  TLE found several things, and I found a couple pairs of shorts (always thinking of warmer weather, right?), and some pajama bottoms......I was due.  By the time we returned to the Newell it had warmed up to 34º F, but without wind it felt warmer.  It was now Noon, and we still had a good 3+ hours before the VW would be done.

Finally, about 3:30 pm, we got the call the Beetle was ready and quickly walked over to pay the damages, and retrieve our car.  We had the car back in the trailer within minutes and were on our way back to I-40, but only for a couple of miles.  We needed to dump our tanks, and found an RV dump station at the local Conoco fuel station just off I-40 at the Butler exit (#198).  Within 30 minutes the deed was done and we were back on I-40 for just another 2 miles.  For the first time since we reached I-40 in Amarillo we were leaving it there in Flagstaff for I-17......

 Forgive the terrible condition of our windshield....we didn't know how bad it was until we were headed into the sun

.....we have been on the Colorado Plateau for a few weeks, and it was time to head for lower elevations, and warmer weather now that most of my doctor appointments are done (all that remains is my final surgery in 2.5 weeks).  Our goal was Camp Verde for the night, but we had been unable to find an RV park with room for us.  I do not like to drive at night, and I knew it would be sunset as we reached Camp Verde at 3,200' elevation.   There were a couple of dry camping/boondocking opportunities in the area (Walmart in Cottonwood, and National Forest land between Camp Verde and Cottonwood) where we have stayed before, but the Walmart no longer allows RV's to stay overnight, and it appears the National Forest land is now closed to dispersed camping.....bummer!

Leaving the snow behind, as well as the Colorado Plateau

As expected, we reached Camp Verde around 6 pm, a few minutes after sunset.  As we approached the town I saw the Cliff Castle Casino  on the left, which I had forgotten about, and knew we could probably overnight there.  Unfortunately, by the time I decided that was the place to stay we had passed the exit and had to proceed down the hill to the next exit, and get back on I-17 northbound to the Mid Verde exit.  Just as we found a spot in the large parking lot in which to park it turned completely dark.  This lot is well lit, however, and feels very safe.

Within minutes I had our small generator running power into the coach, had the DirecTV dialed in, and TLE was making scrambled eggs for dinner......life is good, and in the end it all worked out.  So, our car is finally fixed, and we are at as low an elevation as we have been in weeks.  In another day we'll be in Wittmann enjoying pleasant days, and warmer nights.

Thanks for stopping by!

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RIP - Tioga George

6:34 am - Thursday - February 7th - Winslow, AZ - 19º F, 63% humidity, wind 8 mph out of the southwest......clear today with a forecast high in Winslow of 41º F.  We will not see that high today as we roll our wheels in 3 hours.  The 20+ mph winds have finally abated overnight.

Before I get into Wednesday's shenanigans I wanted to take a few minutes to salute a fellow nomad Tioga George of 'The Adventures of Tioga and George' fame.  George was kind of a pioneer of RV blogging, and utilizing the internet for years using an expensive motorized DataStorm Satellite Dish ($5,000 at the time) to access the internet no matter where he was, and he camped in some pretty remote areas.  As cellphone broadband became better and better he gradually stopped using the DataStorm dish, and relied upon his cellphone hotspot.  I learned a lot about dry camping and boondocking from him.  He also utilized an array of solar panels (again, a sort of pioneer in the day) for his electrical source as his goal was to avoid RV parks at all costs.  He began blogging back in 2003 just after purchasing a used rental Fleetwood Tiogo Class C motorhome.  He had just finished a serious bout with cancer and decided he was not going to live the rest of his life fighting cancer.....he just wanted to live, and if that meant a shorter life so be it.  Well he lived another 15 years cramming probably 30 years of experiences into that time.  I began reading his blog back in 2004, and have read it every single day since then.  His blog provided a major source of monthly income, which he needed as his Social Security check was quite small, and he would averaged 100's of thousands of hits per day.  He was my inspiration for becoming a nomad, and I learned a lot from reading his blog.  Suddenly, about a week ago, his daily blog posts stopped, and I feared the worst, and then Wednesday it was confirmed that he had passed....I think he was 82 or 83.  He never stopped planning, and seeking adventure. At the time of his passing he was in the process of converting a box van to live in as he traveled.  He will be sorely missed by me and thousands of others.  Take some time to read his blog....you will be amazed at the wealth of information to be found there.

It was windy, and it was bone chilling cold Wednesday so what to do?  Well, I began working on our taxes a week, or two ago.  Back in my workaday life I, like most adults who own property, and are in business for themselves, itemized.  My Federal 1040 had about 5-6 schedules attached to it every year.  I've always done my own taxes.....well, I did go to H&R Block back in the early 70's to have my taxes done and guess what?  I got audited over $60.  Ever since then I have done my own taxes, and have not been audited even one single time!  At any rate there was just the Federal 1040 each year, and the California 540 form, again with schedules.  It would usually take me parts of two days....usually weekend days, to finalize everything once I had all my W2's and 1099's in hand.  Often there would be one,or two I did not receive by April 15th so I would almost always have to file for a 6 month extension.  I got in the habit of really doing my taxes in early October in advance of the expiration of the 6 month extension on October 15th each year.

Now that I have been retired for 8 years, and no longer own a home, or have a business I no longer have any schedules attached.  I can even use the California 540EZ form which takes about 5 minutes beginning to end as it calculates everything as you plug in the numbers.  What is not the same as my workaday life is we usually work jobs in other states than California.  In fact, in the year 2018 we worked 3 jobs in other states (Arizona, Maine and Kentucky), so I had to file 5 tax returns this year.......

......and there they are above.....whether or not I have income in California, since I still have my domicile address there I must file a return, even though I owe no taxes, and had no withholding in that state.  I wasn't able to finish my work back in January because I did not have any of my W2's.....I had to work off my final pay stubs for each job to get my total income and then await the W2's to be sure I had everything correct.  Well I finally got the last of the W2's a few days ago so Wednesday being my surgical recovery day was a perfect day to stay inside and rest as I was asked to do by my surgeon.  Within a couple of hours I had all the forms completed online, signed, dated, scanned, and all the W2's attached accordingly.  My favorite forms to complete were California and Arizona as they do all the calculations as you plug in the numbers....super fast and easy.  My least favorite ones were Maine and Kentucky.....way too complicated, and way too many pages for someone who is getting all their withholding back.

In the afternoon we watched an English Premier soccer match between Manchester City and Everton, won 1-nil by Manchester City.  It was a very good match, and could easily have ended in a 0-0 tie.

The surgical wound on my right buttock is doing great.....a little bruising, which is to be expected, but not much swelling, or redness, which is good.  Towards the end of the day, after the soccer match, I took a few minutes to move a couple of things around in the trailer, and then we (TLE is the one who actually drives the car into the trailer as I am too big to get out the door in the cramped confines of said trailer) inserted the VW in advance of our departure Thursday morning.  All that is left to do is unplug from the electrical and put our outside step inside the trailer.  Our Jello plan is to be on the road by 9 am up to Flagstaff where is is 6º F as I write.  We'll park at the Mall across the street from Findlay VW so we can drop off the car there to have the new seat belt buckle and air bag module installed.  We'll hang out at the Mall while the work is being done possibly taking in a movie while we wait.  When the car is ready we'll continue our journey down to Camp Verde which is at 4,000' elevation and much warmer where we'll spend a few days before heading down to Mesa, AZ for our annual Newell service.

Thanks for stopping by!

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The rest of the story.......

7:18 am - Wednesday - February 6th - Winslow, AZ - 33º F, 73% humidity, wind 21 mph out of the southwest......sunny today with a forecast high of 40º F.

I think it's time for an update on the reason for all these doctors appointments over the last 10 days.  I discussed previously that I had one surgery scheduled for February 25th for the cyst in my right cheek saliva gland (parotid cyst).  The next part is kind of personal, but I'll just put it out there anyway.  For a number of years I have had what is called a 'lipoma' on my right buttock cheek.  A lipoma is a non-malignant fatty tumor.  Until the last couple of years it has been small and didn't really bother me, but it has grown larger over that time, and a little painful when I sit for long periods of time, so it was time to have it removed.  that surgery occurred Tuesday.  It was done at the Flagstaff Ambulatory Surgical Center (outpatient surgery) at 11 am.  The surgery itself took about 30 minutes, and was closed using surgical glue......no stitches, and no dressings to change!

We left Winslow around 7:45 am in order to arrive by the 9 am check-in time (two hours before the surgery).  From reading the weather forecast we knew it would be very windy Tuesday, and in Flagstaff it would also be snowing.  As we drove west on I-40 we could see the ever so heavy cloud bank enveloping Flagstaff to such an altitude that even the San Francisco Peaks, which include Humphreys Peak (12,633' elevation) were covered.

With about 10 miles to go we entered the snow zone, and as we approached exit 198 it was snowing quite hard.  As we exited the Interstate the snow was already sticking to the local streets.....very concerning at the time as we would not be heading for home until almost 2 pm.  As we approached the first signal off the Interstate a VW Beetle just like ours slid into a pickup truck beside us.....uh oh, it's slippery!  I immediately shifted down to 2nd gear and just crept along at about 10-15 mph giving myself lots of stopping room in front of me.

We reached the Ambulatory Surgical Center around 8:50 am, found a parking spot across the street and then walked through the snow to the registration office.  Within 10 minutes I was taken (with TLE) to the pre-surgical waiting area (several curtained spaces), had my vital signs checked, and then Molly (RN) inserted an IV catheter in my arm, and hooked me up to an IV bag.

By 10:40 am I had been seen by my surgeon (Dr. Aldridge), and the anesthesiologist, Dr. Hendrickson, and within minutes after that the two attending nurses arrived to walk me into OR #1.  Within minutes they began to administer the anesthesia and then the next thing I knew I was awakening in the post op area, and it was done.  It was now a little after 12:30 pm.  Once I was knocked out they intubated me, and then flipped me over onto the operating table to do the surgery.

Within minutes of my waking up TLE was there with a big smile on her face.  It took me about an hour to completely wake up, and by 2 pm I was getting dressed and being wheeled in a wheelchair out to the car, which TLE had driven over from the parking lot.  The drive back down the hill to the Interstate was not as treacherous as it had been 6 hours before, and within 6 minutes we were on the Interstate cruising eastward at 70 mph....within 10 miles we emerged from the cloud bank, and snow to very windy, but clear skies.  The winds were blowing over 35 mph, but they were coming from behind us (from the west).  We were home by 3 pm, and by 4 pm I was in bed taking a two hour nap.  Man, that anesthesia really knocks you out!

After I woke up TLE served me some chicken/potato soup (she combined two soups together), which was thick and creamy.....just as I prefer it!  We watched several recorded programs and were in bed a little after 10 pm.  

As of this morning (Wednesday) I have not had to take any pain medication.  The wound area is tender, of course, but otherwise I hardly think about it.  When I sit I am sitting on a small pillow, to be sure.  So, there you go!  We roll our wheels on Thursday down to Camp Verde, AZ for a few  days, then into Mesa, AZ where we will have the annual service done on the Newell at 'All Aboard America', and then head to the property of our good friends Tom and Darlene over in Wittman, AZ where we will stay until my next surgery, and follow appointments are completed.  Life is good!

Thanks for stopping by!

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It's a chore.....

6:02 am - Tuesday - February 5th - Winslow, AZ - 40º F, 59% humidity, wind 25 mph out of the south by southwest.....cloudy today with a forecast high of 54º F.

Monday had several chores to be completed.....we needed to do a BIG laundry run involving at least 3 large washers at the local laundromat, we were awaiting an email from Amazon providing a link for returning peak season employees to apply early for Peak Season 2019, and we needed to drop the trailer back on the Newell hitch while it is still decent weather (there is a front coming through....snowing in Flagstaff this morning, and that is where we are headed in about 90 minutes).

Before all that occurred, however, we decided to walk over to the 'Sipp Shoppe' for coffee and a muffin.  We were planning to leave on our walk after we got the email link from Amazon, which was supposed to arrive around 10 am Mountain Time (12 pm Eastern Time), but by 10:20 am it had not arrived (technical glitch on Amazon's end) so we began our walk.....

......we had barely sat down with our coffee and muffin when the email came through, so we sat there on our phones completing the new application while sipping coffee, and taking the occasional bite of our muffin.  For those who may be wondering we have applied to work in their Camperforce program at their Phoenix Fulfillment Center, a new addition to the Camperforce program this year.  They have a very short Peak Season in Phoenix which is November 11th to December 23rd.....about 6 weeks.....perfect!  For us the online application process was a breeze, and we were finished in about 30 minutes, beginning to end, and now have a reserved spot at Phoenix.

Once that was done we walked back home to gather our mountain of laundry together and head up to the laundromat.  We filled two large hamper bags, and that amount of laundry filled three large Dexter washers.  While the 30 minute wash time was running its course we drove a block down to the Safeway supermarket to pick up a few groceries, returning about 4 minutes before it was time to move the washed clothing to the two large Dexter dryers.  The drying cycle took another 30 minutes to complete, at which time we folded everything and headed for the Newell.

We arrived just in time to watch an English Premier soccer match between league leading Liverpool and West Ham United.  It was a great, well played match ending in a draw, 1-1.  Once the match was done we got into gear to complete the final task of the day....drop the trailer back on the Newell hitch.  That took about 15 minutes to finish, and we were done with being responsible for the day.....time to take a nap!

Around 5:50 pm we were treated to a beautiful, windswept sunset......

.....thanks for stopping by!

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# 53.........

7:47 am - Monday - February 4th - Winslow, AZ - 43º F, 73% humidity, wind 7 mph out of the southeast......heavy cloud cover today with a forecast high of 56º F.

Our time here in Winslow is drawing to an end, so I began to put away some things in the trailer Sunday morning in preparation for our departure.  I have another doctor appointment in Flagstaff Tuesday (supposed to be snowing there Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, which reaffirms our decision to commute from Winslow), and we will be rolling our wheels on Thursday morning towards Southern Arizona 53.

Due to the high winds (25-35 mph) most of the day we remained inside Sunday watching three successive English Premier Soccer matches, which eventually morphed into watching the Super Bowl 53 pregame show, and then Super Bowl.  

Quite like Super Bowl 50, #53 (Rams vs. Patriots) was also a defensive struggle from beginning to end.  At the end of the first half it was 3-0 (sounds like a baseball score) in favor of the New England Patriots, and at the beginning of the 4th quarter it was just 3-3.  With 9 minutes to go in the 4th quarter it was still tied 3-3 (remarkably like a baseball score).  The game, frankly, could have gone either way, but New England's experience of having been in 10 Super Bowls in the last 18 years, and 5 victories over that span was evident, and they ultimately prevailed 13-3 to win their 6th Super Bowl in the last 18 years.  Jared Goff, the Ram quarterback, came within a whisker of completing two touchdown passes in the second half, but in the end the Patriot defense made every single play.  The Rams did not run one play from within the 'Red Zone' (the Red Zone is between the goal line and the 20 yard line) the entire game.  Conversely, the Patriots ran only 1 Red Zone play the entire game and that resulted in a rushing touchdown to give them a 10-3 lead.  Was it an exciting game to watch? No, not really.  Was it an intensely interesting game?  You bet it was!  I appreciated the brilliance of the coaching on both sides of the ball, and the execution by the players of their individual game plans.  The Patriots just completed a few more plays than the Rams, and won the game.

That was the sum total of our day Sunday beginning to end....total vegetation in front of our TV.....there, I've said it....I admit it....Sunday was a total 'Veg' day.

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Petrified.......

7:31 am - Sunday - February 3rd - Winslow, AZ - 46º F, 70% humidity, wind 19 mph out of the south by southwest.....partly cloudy today with winds in the 25-35 mph range later, and a forecast high of 58º F.....Super Bowl 53 is today!

Before I get into Saturday's adventures I would like to note that on February 1st of this year we completed 7 years living on the road in our 1982 Newell Classic.  It feels like the years are rolling by at a rapid rate, but when we think back on everywhere we have been, and all that we have done 7 years does not seem long enough to contain all that we have done, experienced, and seen.  The adventure continues with no apparent end in sight.  We love our life, and are grateful you have chosen to share it with us!  Now, onto regularly scheduled programming!

We postponed our trip back in time to the Petrified Forest until Saturday.  We were seeing forecasts of possible rain, and high winds for Saturday, but as it turned out it was a beautiful, blustery day with amazing cloud formations being swept across the expansive horizon.  It was about a 45 minute drive back to the north entrance to the Petrified Forest National Park (includes a big portion of the Painted Desert which we were able to see the first time we were there about 8 days prior)......

......using our National Parks Golden Age pass we entered the park cost free, and made our way northward inititally through the Painted Desert portion of the park......

 Painted Desert

......there are number of informational signs which I will post before we get into the pictures of the rest of the park.....

 Painted Desert informational sign

.....the Painted Desert covers over 1700 square miles (120 miles long by 60 miles wide), and a large chunk of it is with the boundaries of the Petrified Forest NP......

 Painted Desert Inn.....a Fred Harvey operation....served their last meal in 1963

 
.......from the Painted Desert Inn we continued along the park road eventually turning south, and crossing over I-40 to the Petrified Forest portion of the park.....

.....at first the samples of petrified wood are few and far in between, but as you progress southward you begin to find more and more.......

 Crystal Forest

.....eventually we stopped at the 'Crystal Forest' part of the park where petrified wood, and logs are found in abundance......the loop trail here is about .75 long and well worth the time.....this is probably the greatest concentration of petrified logs we found on this day......a very interesting walk......

.......there were several areas where we were able to view numerous petroglyphs........the loop trail is about .5 miles long, and a very easy walk.....

 Petroglyphs

Newspaper Rock

 
.....another stop we made was at 'Blue Mesa' which provided a 1 mile (loop) walking path.  We were able to view the stratification of the area.......

 Blue Mesa

 Some hoodoos

......we thoroughly enjoyed this 1 mile loop trail, which took us about 45 minutes to traverse (we stopped often to take pictures), and highly recommend this walk.....

 A little perspective on how large this tree was

......the park road which takes you from north to south (or south to north if you wish to enter at the South Entrance) is about 28 miles in length.  We finally reached the South Entrance around 2:30 pm and took time to visit the park store, as well as the museum.....it was here we found the largest example of a petrified tree (above)......

 Agate Bridge

This was a long one!

......by 3 pm we were on our way back to Winslow after a delightful day of sightseeing.  We have passed by this National Park numerous times over the years, and I am embarrassed to say it took us this long to visit it formally.  The wonderful, windblown cloud formations added enormously to our experience.  We spent about 4 hours in the park, but I could see spending 8 hours, or more there with perfect weather conditions.  The wind lowered the 'feel' of the temperature (high of 59º F Saturday) to about 45º F, so we remained bundled up most of our visit (gloves, watch caps, long pants, gloves).

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