Previous Day 3 - Kingman AZ - Holbrook AZ
Today was my day of mistakes. I totally underestimated the places to see and the distances between them. My plan was to check out Petrified National Park and then head for Tucumcari, NM.
I was told by a few and also got an impression from reading on-line that Petrified Forest is a drive through, and one could see the sights in about three hours. So I thought 450 miles if I start early should not be a probem. Boy, was I wrong!
Desert landscapes is a personal favorite of mine! Someday, I hope to live in one. The petrified national park has that deserty feeling to it - it is hot, arid, and the sand formations reminded me of Death Valley, NP in California. Before I knew I spent most of the day in the park. By the time I came out of it, it was already 3:00 PM.
The thing is - the definition of beauty is certainly in an individual's mind. You cannot absolutely go by what others say about what you like and dont. Lesson learnt. I should not have planned for a such a long day. At 3, the panic set it. I still had more than 300 miles to Tucumcari, NM. A small voice in my mind kept saying "Call the hotel and cancel it today and rebook it for the next day.". The other voice said, just keep rolling and you will get there.
Roll, I did, but keeping the distance in mind, I hit the free way. A 100 miles or so later, the other voice became quite loud, it said "You did not come all the way to ride the freeway, and rush through like this.". The sedate R66 was visible on the side of the freeway. Then I took an exit, called the place where I was going to stay, and asked if I could come one day later. To my surprise the guy I talked to was extremely nice and was able to understand that I was far away.
I turned back the way I came for another 40 miles, chiding myself for being in such a rush and not planning the day properly. Retrospectively, its difficult to plan a trip through unknown places. Best to keep the distance between the destinations for the day to be between 2-3 hundred miles a day. A lesson learnt - when you hurry, you miss out a lot, not pay attention to the land you are crossing and not smell the roses :). For a while, I could not find any motels, just casinos. Finally took an exit for Sky City Casino in Acoma, NM.
One lesson I learnt. On such long trips, I should not plan more than 200-250 miles a day.
Leaving Holbrook, I reached the Petrified National Park at a decent time.
Right at the entrance there were a few samples of the old trees, infused with Silicon. Eventually under great pressure, the tree becomes petrified.
At the visitor center.
First time ever I see a water fountain thats designed for people and pets at once. Good design....
At the gift shop.
Inside the park, not too many people, and the vistas looked amazing.
Crows are the birds that I have seen in any climate. They adapt well. Here this raven seems lucky to be living in such a beautiful place.
The colors of the land are amazing. The purples, greens, beige, red and orange come together to make such a mystical landscape.
The petrified woods in a natural state.
Beautiful roads
At the north end of the park is a adobe building, apparently was built with the petrified wood, which is part of the national park now. They have done a good job of recognizing the value and history of the place and donated it to the park. Some sights from that place. It was nice and cool inside.
An amazing stained glass ceiling! With the light filtering through, it was more beautiful in reality than the camera could ever capture.
Today was my day of mistakes. I totally underestimated the places to see and the distances between them. My plan was to check out Petrified National Park and then head for Tucumcari, NM.
I was told by a few and also got an impression from reading on-line that Petrified Forest is a drive through, and one could see the sights in about three hours. So I thought 450 miles if I start early should not be a probem. Boy, was I wrong!
Desert landscapes is a personal favorite of mine! Someday, I hope to live in one. The petrified national park has that deserty feeling to it - it is hot, arid, and the sand formations reminded me of Death Valley, NP in California. Before I knew I spent most of the day in the park. By the time I came out of it, it was already 3:00 PM.
The thing is - the definition of beauty is certainly in an individual's mind. You cannot absolutely go by what others say about what you like and dont. Lesson learnt. I should not have planned for a such a long day. At 3, the panic set it. I still had more than 300 miles to Tucumcari, NM. A small voice in my mind kept saying "Call the hotel and cancel it today and rebook it for the next day.". The other voice said, just keep rolling and you will get there.
Roll, I did, but keeping the distance in mind, I hit the free way. A 100 miles or so later, the other voice became quite loud, it said "You did not come all the way to ride the freeway, and rush through like this.". The sedate R66 was visible on the side of the freeway. Then I took an exit, called the place where I was going to stay, and asked if I could come one day later. To my surprise the guy I talked to was extremely nice and was able to understand that I was far away.
I turned back the way I came for another 40 miles, chiding myself for being in such a rush and not planning the day properly. Retrospectively, its difficult to plan a trip through unknown places. Best to keep the distance between the destinations for the day to be between 2-3 hundred miles a day. A lesson learnt - when you hurry, you miss out a lot, not pay attention to the land you are crossing and not smell the roses :). For a while, I could not find any motels, just casinos. Finally took an exit for Sky City Casino in Acoma, NM.
One lesson I learnt. On such long trips, I should not plan more than 200-250 miles a day.
Leaving Holbrook, I reached the Petrified National Park at a decent time.
Right at the entrance there were a few samples of the old trees, infused with Silicon. Eventually under great pressure, the tree becomes petrified.
At the visitor center.
First time ever I see a water fountain thats designed for people and pets at once. Good design....
At the gift shop.
Inside the park, not too many people, and the vistas looked amazing.
Crows are the birds that I have seen in any climate. They adapt well. Here this raven seems lucky to be living in such a beautiful place.
The colors of the land are amazing. The purples, greens, beige, red and orange come together to make such a mystical landscape.
The petrified woods in a natural state.
Beautiful roads
At the north end of the park is a adobe building, apparently was built with the petrified wood, which is part of the national park now. They have done a good job of recognizing the value and history of the place and donated it to the park. Some sights from that place. It was nice and cool inside.
An amazing stained glass ceiling! With the light filtering through, it was more beautiful in reality than the camera could ever capture.
