This was the longest travel day of the trip. It was originally planned for about 723 miles but it ended up around 780 miles. We set out from Page, AZ bound for Carlsbad, NM. The morning we left, we realized that we were going to travel right through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Parks. Naturally, we couldn't pass these up and that added time. Right after we left Flagstaff, we passed a sign for Walnut Canyon National Monument. This ended up being an area where Indians lived in caves. All in all, it wasn't worth our time, but I am sure it is a nice place if you have the time to explore it.
The big surprise came after we left Walnut Canyon. We passed a sign for the Meteor Crater. I knew this was in Arizona, but I had no idea it was so close to I-40. This was a very unexpected but excellent surprise. We stopped here and got a lot of pictures. This was the windiest place I have ever visited in my life. There were times when I thought I wasn't going to be able to stand up.
The big surprise came after we left Walnut Canyon. We passed a sign for the Meteor Crater. I knew this was in Arizona, but I had no idea it was so close to I-40. This was a very unexpected but excellent surprise. We stopped here and got a lot of pictures. This was the windiest place I have ever visited in my life. There were times when I thought I wasn't going to be able to stand up.
Anyway, on to the photos...
As I said, this was a nice place but we just didn't have time to do it justice.
Walnut Canyon.
The kids at the Meteor Crater. This is at the visitor center.
This is a wide view of the crater. It's really not much more than a dent in the ground, but it's very big and very unique.
You can see the effects of the wind. See how it blew out James' and Jane's shirts.
These logs are just lying around. I would like to know more of the history of this park. How these pieces of the trees got to where they are.
More logs.
Interesting rock formations in the Petrified Forest.
More rock formations.
I liked the view of the layers on this one.
The Painted Desert. We took a number of photos, but this was the best one.
Our next-to-last state sign.
A magnificent sunset on the way to Carlsbad. We passed through Roswell, NM on the way to Carlsbad. The city is near a military installation where conspiracy theorists say that the US is holding an alien. Roswell has embraced that culture and there are lots of alien pictures around the town. Also, the local McDonald's has a play area that's shaped like a flying saucer. It looked like fun.
This was just too cute and a great way to end this post.
Tomorrow...the Caverns.
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