National Parks AZ, UT, CA
We've seen ten National Parks and Monuments, some of which we've already covered. It never gets old when you approach the entrance to one of these places. Generally, each vehicle is charged $25 to $35 to enter so we are happy to have our senior passes that we bought years ago for $10.
On March 28, we went to The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert (two parks in one). If you were expecting an actual forest, you'd be wrong. It was a real forest millions of years ago, but volcanic ash absorbed into the wood over millennia, causing the wood to petrify or harden. Now the park is strewn with large fallen trees, hardened like rocks. While you can't take any petrified wood from the park itself, gift stores sell pieces of it from private lands.
The Painted Desert is made up of layers of shale and rock in striking colors of pink, red and purple. There is a beautiful adobe inn there called The Painted Desert Inn. Built in the 1920's as a place where guests could stay, it has been fully restored and serves now as a visitor center and gift shop.
On March 30, we visited Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah and stayed in the town of Kanab, billed as “the greatest earth on show” because even though it is not in the park, the natural beauty surrounding it is almost as spectacular. At Bryce, you ride on the outer rim of the canyons and the lookouts are all below you. Bryce is known for its hoodoos (sandstone colorful masterpieces that rise from the canyon floor.
Next up was Zion. If Bryce takes you around the rim of the canyon, Zion immerses you IN the canyons and the formations of rock rise around you. Something about Zion really spoke to me and it was almost a religious experience and I don’t use that expression often.
At the end of Zion is the toney town of Springdale, quaint, upscale and touristy. Lots of cute restaurants, hotels and lodges. But to get back to Kanab, we had to drive the whole length of the park again and see it backwards, which was every bit as thrilling.
To see Arches National Park, we had to drive all the way across Utah from the southwest corner to the northeastern middle of the state. A long ride.
Arches is near the town of Moab, something between the swanky town of Springdale and the working class town of Kanab.There are 2000 arch formations in this park and we saw quite a few. We also saw some natural bridge formations there as well.
When we woke up the next morning after seeing Arches, our car was covered with snow and ice (no scraper). We drove the whole width of Utah again, this time in a blinding snowstorm back to Las Vegas.
From Las Vegas, we took a side trip to Temecula, CA, to visit our cousins Bobby and Chris who live on a mountain overlooking the town. Their home, newly renovated, is spectacular. We had dinner in Old Town Temecula and had a great time with them. Thanks, guys!!
Leaving Temecula, we drove to Twenty-Nine Palms, a city near Joshua Tree National Park. The Joshua Tree is an endangered and threatened slow growing evergreen native to the Mojave Desert and very distinctive in appearance. But the rock formations in the park some of which are 85 BILLION years old, are every bit as dramatic.
We even returned to the park after dark to try to see the stars as it is a dark sky park, but the moon was up and it was too bright to see much. It’s also creepy after dark!
Vangoaside:
Our friends Ollie and Nancy gave us a St. Christopher medal which we promptly attached to our visor. We haven't had close calls thus far with other vehicles, we have encountered animals on the road along the way. Patti almost hit two turtles crossing the road and I nearly collided with two kittens on the road. But the most dramatic occurred in Arizona when I had to swerve to avoid a coyote in the middle of highway. He didnt even move. Finalky, I almost hit a turkey recently. Thank you, Ollie and Nancy and thank you St. Christopher. The animals thank you too.