VACATION JANUARY 2015 TO ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA

PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK IN ARIZONA - NEAR HOLBROOK - OUR THIRD TIME THERE - NEVER GET TIRED OF IT. YOU GET OFF I-40 AND DRIVE THROUGH IT ABOUT 25 MILES SOUTH - THEN TAKE STATE ROAD 180 INTO HOLBROOK BACK TO I-40 OR REVERSE AND DRIVE BACK NORTH THROUGH IT AGAIN - YOU CAN DRIVE BY ALL THIS ON I-40 AND NOT REALIZE IT IS THERE OR SEE ANYTHING.  ALLOW AN HOUR OR TWO.  THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OVERLOOKS AND A LOOP ROAD TO DRIVE TO THE BLUE MESA THERE IS A MUSEUM AT THE SOUTH END - THE I-40 EXIT HAS A PAINTED DESERT VISITOR CENTER.  THIS GOES BACK TO ABOUT 200 MILLION YEARS AGO WHEN THIS AREA WAS UNDER WATER

LEAH AT TIPONI POINT OVERLOOK ON NORTH END NEAR I-40 

TAWA POINT OVERLOOK

LEAH LOOKS WEST TO HOLBROOK 30 MILES AWAY

I-40 & OLD ROUTE 66 & BNSF RAILWAY RUN THROUGH THE PAINTED DESERT 

 OVERLOOK AT NEWSPAPER ROCK

THE TEPEES

OVERLOOK JUST SOUTH OF THE TEPEES LOOKING NORTHEAST

PETRIFIED ROCK NEAR BLUE MESA - MANY IF NOT MOST WERE REMOVED BEFORE IT BECAME FEDERAL LAND. IT BECAME A NATIONAL MONUMENT IN 1906 - A NATIONAL PARK IN 1967. IT INCLUDES ABOUT 146 SQUARE MILES OF LAND.  THIS AREA GETS HOT AND LOT OF WIND AND BLOWING DUST IN THE SPRING - I-40 WAS CLOSED DUE TO BLOWING DUST IN APRIL 2009 WHEN WE WANTED TO GO FROM HERE TO METEOR CRATER AND WIND SO STRONG YOU COULD HARDLY OPEN YOUR CAR DOOR, SO THAT DAY WE JUST DROVE THROUGH AND POWER WINDOW DOWN AT POINTS TO TAKE PICTURES

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