The BirthDay

(Tuesday, June 8th)
Happy Birthday, Alex!  


 Alex turned 14 today.  The camper was decorated, just like any birthday at home.  This is the second of Alex's birthday in a row that we have been camping.  While we did not have cake for breakfast, we did let Alex open his presents!

Unfortunately for Alex, this was going to be a long drive day.  The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest were on the agenda, but the drive there was going to take time - over 2 hours!  He was not thrilled with that idea, but the kids came prepared for long drives and had books and games to play in addition to movies.  This trip, they played Nintendo DS and on this drive, they played NintenDogs.  Great...2 hours of training electronic dogs. 'Sit', 'Stay', 'Sit', 'Stay', 'No, Sit'...ugh!   Oh well, it kept them occupied.


I do not think that any one else was sure that the Painted Desert or Petrified Forest would be worth the trip.  When we got there, opinions did not change much, it is hard to get excited after being at the Grand Canyon and the comparison that brings.  The park is not as glamorous, or overwhelming.  Also, we did not get there at the 'best' time of the day to see the brilliant colors.  The park is set up for a driving tour with some short stops mixed in.  The views were great, but I wanted to see this, so, I took lots of pictures!  Interest was not at it's peak, early on, but started picking up after we stopped by the site where historic Route 66 went by.  After that point, the Petrified Forest started to take shape.

Now, we visited a petrified forest last year in Mississippi.  That memory is what the kids were anticipating seeing again.  Fortunately, this was the National Park Petrified Forest instead.  The magnitude and beauty of this park wiped out any preconceived images as soon as the first signs of large numbers of trees were visible.  The heat was now the big deterrent to any time spent outside.  We managed to spend a good 1.5 hours visiting the two parks combined.  The kids were excited by the end, so I think it went well.

We left the parks and headed to the nearest Walmart for food and supplies.  That store happened to be in Winslow, AZ.  Pretty cool to say we were there, since the line to a popular '70s song is 'Standing on a Corner in Winslow, AZ.  I wish we had more time to visit this small town, since Route 66 goes through it and it seemed like the town was emphasizing the historic area, kind of like Williams, AZ does.  However, the length of the drive and the packing necessary for tomorrow's trip out of AZ, prevented any tourist time.


Leaving AZ tomorrow, had a blast, loved the area.  Here's hoping the rest of the trip provides as nice an experience!