Wednesday morning after visiting Winslow, AZ it was time to head east towards our next major destination, Chaco Canyon. We didn't expect to make it all the way there that day but we were going to try to make as many miles as we could and still see some of the sights.
The first stop was Holbrook, AZ. We needed some more kitsch balance. Standin' on the Corner started to tip us back towards the center between culture and kitsch but we needed a little more and Holbrook was the place to do it.
Driving into Holbrook we came upon the Wigwam Motel, a famous old Route 66 attraction. I guess I was remiss in my planning of this segment of the trip because I completely overlooked the fact that we would pass by the Wigwam so this was a great surprise for me. Both Guitar and I were like kids in a candy shop looking at the old cars and the motel rooms. I took lots of pictures of the old cars, their grills and hood ornaments. The motel is still in operation and you can stay in one of the wigwams for a reasonable cost.
Just down the road we ran into yet another piece of kitsch, a rock shop with 8-10 statues of dinosaurs. The Bride commented that she remembered this site when she visited the Petrified Forest in the mid 1950's. Needless to say Guitar and I took a few more pictures.
OK, now it was time to tilt the scale back the other way a bit so we headed for the Petrified Forest National Park. It was mid day by this time and while the weather was great, the wind really began to blow and I really had to hold on to the steering wheel of the RV to keep on the narrow road.
We entered the park from the south and stopped at the visitor center to look around and take a short hike through the biggest concentration of long petrified trees. Because it was so windy and we had far to travel we didn't do more hiking. The road through the park is about 28 miles and goes through not only the Petrified Forest but also parts of the Painted Desert. We exited the park back on I-40 and headed for Gallup, NM. Along the way we stopped at a couple of Indian trading posts so that Guitar could continue his search for the "perfect" piece of jewelry.
By the time we got to Gallup it was late afternoon and we decided to call it a day. We found an RV park with hookups and a shower and settled in for the night after some sightseeing...but I'll save that for the next post.
Thanks for visiting.
No comments:
Post a Comment