Dateline: Tusayan, AZ

 

Hopefully our car won't end up looking like this by the time we reach Washington state

After six days and more than 2280 miles (3670 kilometers) we've finally reached the first of several intended destinations - the Grand Canyon. To get there, we left New Mexico this morning and entered Arizona, stopping at the state line to admire the scenery at one of the best-sited freeway rest areas I've ever come across:

In keeping with our touring policy of making at least one significant stop each day on the journey west, we ended up spending several hours exploring the amazing scenery of the Petrified Forest National Park. With our daughter behind the wheel, we took the 28-mile (45 kilometers) paved park road that starts from the visitor center just off of Interstate 40. First stop was the historic Painted Desert Inn, with its 1930's façade (and now serving as a museum):

The many overlooks in this area make it very apparent how the Painted Desert came to be called as such:

This 1932 Studebaker sits where Route 66 once cut through the park:

Ancestral Puebloan homes and petroglyphs can be seen at the Parco Pueblo stop:

More petroglyphs could be seen from an overlook known as Newspaper Rock - some have been dated back 2000 years:

My wife gets out to photograph the Tepees:

A spur road took us on a loop through the Blue Mesa area, site of some of the park's most colorful geology:

The name of the national park comes from the numerous fossilized logs strewn about. These petrified pieces of wood predate the dinosaurs:

The Agate Bridge, at 110 feet (34 meters), is a petrified log spanning a gully. Despite a concrete support beam put up in 1917, according to the signboard it's only a matter of time before the log loses its battle against the elements:

The Jasper Forest outlook provides a panoramic view of an area with a high concentration of petrified wood:

We could also get up close and personal with a number of fossilized logs by walking along a ¾ of a mile (1.2 kilometers) paved trail at a spot called the Crystal Forest:

Our final stop in the park was at the Giant Logs Trail:

Exiting at the opposite end, we drove along lonely U.S. Route 180 before reconnecting with I-40 at Holbrook. A storm could be seen approaching the road:

Truth be told, painted deserts aside, the desert scenery along the interstate in Arizona wasn't as enthralling as that in New Mexico. But upon leaving the freeway in Flagstaff, Route 180 took us up to an elevation of more than 8000 feet (2440 meters) and through forest scenery that reminded Shu-E of the Pacific Northwest:

We rolled into Tusayan, a resort town close to the south entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park, at around 1745 hours. The Grand Canyon Amber Ale I had with dinner was a well-deserved refreshment:

After dinner, and with some sunlight remaining on this Thursday, our daughter drove us into the park. We passed a family of elk along the way (coming back in the dark, Amber had to stop the car and wait while a group of wild horses crossed the road):

And then we had our first look at the awe and majesty of the Grand Canyon:

Hopefully this will be the first of many magnificent views to come in the next few days.