July 18th – Holbrook, AZ to Cortez, CO and Petrified Forest National Park
Departed early this morning in an attempt to catch some cooler air (less than 100F). We slept in Holbrook because it is only 30min from the Petrified Forest, so we arrived with few visitors yet and the temperature still manageable. We walked a few of the shorter interpretive trails, and marveled at the variety and abundance of petrified wood. There are mainly two types: permineralization leaves the tree cells intact and so this rock looks just like a log, while the second type allows agates to form into striking patches of colour. Both types are spectacular to see. Unfortunately, many years of looting had depleted the park of some reportedly amazing specimens, and the park now discourages this act with many warnings and even “emergency phones” located everywhere for reporting thefts or vandalism!
The landscape was like a mini badlands, with mesas and sediment layers exposed by erosion. There had been pueblos in the area, and archaeological work is in progress. This park also boasts a dense display of petroglyphs, which we enjoyed immensely. They’re beautifully done and the ‘desert varnish’ on the rock face is a brilliant contrast to the lighter rock underneath which gets exposed upon carving.
The north end of the park allows views and backcountry hiking into the Painted Desert. True to its name, the colours looked unreal, as if this were only a diarama we were seeing! It would have been really neat to have explored this area a bit more, but the heat (up near 105F) was getting to us.
After leaving the park, we drove further east into New Mexico, then turned north at Gallup. (Gallup reminded me of Red Deer, Alberta: from the highway it looks like a strip of fast food chains and nothing more.) From here, we drove through the Navajo Reservatioin and into Colorado. The mesas were spectacular. Also surreal were giant, jagged rock formations jutting out from the flatness of the surrounding area! Finally we pulled into Cortez, CO – just a few miles from Mesa Verde National Park.
The landscape was like a mini badlands, with mesas and sediment layers exposed by erosion. There had been pueblos in the area, and archaeological work is in progress. This park also boasts a dense display of petroglyphs, which we enjoyed immensely. They’re beautifully done and the ‘desert varnish’ on the rock face is a brilliant contrast to the lighter rock underneath which gets exposed upon carving.
The north end of the park allows views and backcountry hiking into the Painted Desert. True to its name, the colours looked unreal, as if this were only a diarama we were seeing! It would have been really neat to have explored this area a bit more, but the heat (up near 105F) was getting to us.
After leaving the park, we drove further east into New Mexico, then turned north at Gallup. (Gallup reminded me of Red Deer, Alberta: from the highway it looks like a strip of fast food chains and nothing more.) From here, we drove through the Navajo Reservatioin and into Colorado. The mesas were spectacular. Also surreal were giant, jagged rock formations jutting out from the flatness of the surrounding area! Finally we pulled into Cortez, CO – just a few miles from Mesa Verde National Park.
posted by blumaroo at 10:36 PM
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