Near Holbrook AZ, we found Petrified Forest National Park. We started at the Painted Desert (north) side, with lots of overlooks into multicolored desert vistas. The park road then winds south, over I-40, into a massive area just covered with logs of brightly-colored petrified wood.  Long logs, broken into slabs, still in line like a ship’s mast. Mounds of petrified wood rocks.  Fields just scattered with hundreds of stumps of petrified wood. Last summer we were impressed by Utah’s Petrified Forest State Park, which had maybe 20 big chunks of petrified wood, and a long climb to see a few. … Continue reading Petrified Forest National Park, AZ

Left Boulder and headed down to Angel Fire, NM.  Stopped outside Colorado Springs to visit Garden of the Gods, a drive and walk through red rock formations jutting out of the “normal” Colorado green, rocky, hilly landscape, like giant jagged red legos dropped from space. Took a morning stroll in Angel Fire, overlooking Wheeler Peak, highest point in the state. Thanksgiving with family & friends, then on to Albuquerque, where we rode the Sandia Peak tram up to the top and hiked around a bit, enjoying the views of the city below. The boys hiked over to the stone Kiwanis Cabin, … Continue reading Garden of the Gods to Angel Fire to Albuquerque