Day 57 - 59

After overnighting Sunday night in a casino parking lot outside of Albuquerque  we went on into the city for a couple nights to do laundry and let the winds and storms that were ahead of us move further out.  So this morning (Wed) we headed southeast and decided to take a scenic route on state road 60. There were some historic sights we wanted to see along the way. One was an ancient indian village remains and the other was the grave of Billy the Kid.  We got to see the remains but the grave site was closed by the time we got there. It was a interesting ride to get here  to this small village of Ft Sumner. We saw cows and deers and lots of antelope along the way. We would go for miles without seeing a house or pass a car. Sadly most of the businesses and houses are uninhabited.  This is really a impoverished area.  Sure makes ypu appreciate what you have and were you live.  Hopefully we can get to do the grave site on our way out. We found a spot to park near a fairground about half mile from Billy the Kid marker so we will stop first thing in morning.  On to the big state of Texas tomorrow. 

Day 56

We decided to spend a couple nights in Holbrook before saying goodbye to Arizona, so this morning we got up to see the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert. It was wild seeing these ancient trees that had turn to quartz. It was amazing seeing the other historical parts of the park as well. The Desert Inn and other ancient native dwellings and petroglyphs.  We spent  several hours at the park but made sure we were back for the UK game which came on at 4:30 here. It was a good game but disappointing to lose in OT.  Here are some pics from todays journey. 

Day 55

We made it back into Flagstaff early so decided to stop by Sunset Crater National Park.  This is a nice park that truly shows the effects of a volcanic eruption. We got to walk one of the trail but didnt stay long due to high winds.  But here are some pics of this park. 

After leaving Sundet we headed toward Winslow, but soon after we get back on interstate we see a sign for Walnut Canyon National Park and decide to check it out.  This was another area where primitive natives dwelled in the cliffs. We walked a mile walk down into the canyon to get a first hand view. The path had well over two hundred steps and dropped several hundred feet. You scaled around a clift edge they called  the island. I sure was glad it was an interesting place because the hime about killed us! Here are the sites along the island trail. 

The visitors center is at the top, thats where we walked from and back too!

After recovering from our hike we headed to Winslow. I could not pass the town without "standing on the corner" being a long time Eagles fan it just would not be right. After seeing the iconic corner we walked down the street to a historic hotels that was beautiful.  So glad the lady at tourist office told us to check it out. Here are my fav pics 😀

Take it easy everyone, til the next stop

Day 54

We woke up to a little rain, sleet, and snow but the roads were fine so we headed off.  Because the weather was not looking good in the direction we planned we headed back toward Flagstaff.  We stopped by Horseshoe Bend to see where the Colorado river makes a huge turn and you overlook the area, kinda scary because they tell you to not go out on rocks to look over because they break off. There are no railings so you have no idea what rocks are over hanging.  

The area between the parks and Flagstaff is almost all Navajo land not many towns along the highway.  The highway is mainly wide and straight but there was a few winding close sections too. The winds got bad and we were tired so we found a little grocery store that let us park behind it for the night. Here are my pics for the day. 

Day 51 & 52

We left Williams heading for Zion National Park.  It was a nice ride and closer than we thought so we decided to go all the way to our campground at Zion.  We were up and ready to see the park the next morning. We got to the entrance of the park and because our truck is a dually they charged us $15 more dollars to enter because of a tunnel. They stopped traffic in the other direction so we could drive up the middle. 

After getting inside we had to drive down a road that snaked down ghe hillside. There are areas to pullover and take pictures all along the road. Zion is so worth the trip. It is remarkable and I cannot imagine anyone not falling in love with it. Pictures cannot begin to show you the beauty. It was a great day.  Here are a few scenes from our day. I already want to go back!

This is the mountain we watched 3 people rock climbing up. They were 2/3 of the way up when we had to leave. Unbelievable they were going up a flat section and were hundreds of feet up.