Petrified Forest and Holbrook, Arizona

Our original plan was to visit Canyon de Chelly, but it is remote and we didn't have a lot of propane--the nights there are cold. We decided to go to Petrified Forest near Holbrook, Arizona. We left Big Horn Campground in Gila National Forest and it wasn't long before we entered Arizona.Most of the morning we were climbing in elevation. There was snow on the mountain tops when we stopped at the Apache NF Ranger Station. Since we had been dry camping we also needed to refill our fresh water tank. The gas station next to the ranger station had water and propane, just no one to fill the propane tank until 11:30 a.m. That is when we realized that we gained an hour as Arizona doesn't observe daylight savings time!
After filling the water tank we continued on our way to the south entrance of Petrified Forest National Park. First stop, the Crystal Forest Museum Gift Shop!
Bob had read that the gift shop was the place to stay! So we asked about camping--it was free since the electric didn't work. We set up camp then......
entered Petrified Forest National Park.Chris and DeAnna enjoyed climbing on the stone trees.
While we were in the visitor center, Chris and DeAnna applied to be Junior Rangers. As we traveled through the park, they answered questions.

Friday evening while I cooked dinner, Bob took them to see the dinosaurs in the gift shop parking lot.
Saturday morning we decided to go look for treasures in Holbrook.

We found one outside of town. The kids enjoyed picking the swag to trade.
One geocache was located at Holbrook city limits. There was a statue of and Indian who had chased a cowboy up a tree.Downtown we found a treasure near the old county courthouse. The jail was transported to Holbrook in one piece in the 1890s for a cost of $3000. This is one of the six cells in the unit.
Outside there was an open air cell. I tried to stay in it, but Bob and the kids said I had to go with them.
Chris and DeAnna got a kick out of the stage coach.
The most interesting fact about Holbrook was that Radiator Springs was based on the town. We found a treasure near the real Tow-Mater!
He was located at the WigWam Motel.
We explored all the old tourist places that were around when Route 66 was a thriving thruway. One stop had ostriches.
Each evening the kids worked on their Junior Ranger applications. Before we left Sunday morning, we returned to the park so they could be sworn in as Petrified Forest Junior Rangers.

Catwalk National Recreation Trail

We left City of Rocks after one last tour of the rock playground. As we traveled north on US180, we found several interesting places in Gila National Forest. The first stop was Leopold Vista. We stopped to eat a picnic lunch. The interesting thing about this stop was the number of cars in the parking area--six, and of those, five had Florida tags!

From Leopold Vista we continued on to the ranger station outside Glenwood, NM. Bob and I wanted to walk Catwalk National Recreation Trail. The ranger assured us there was a national forest campground that could accommodate our rig just north of the road to the trail. We found the campground with ease and we were the first to arrive. The campground was free, but it didn't have hook-ups. We found a great spot near a dry stream bed.
After setting up camp we drove to Catwalk Trail. The trail follows the sides of the mountains up into a canyon. The area was once used by miners and was also a CCC project.The first half mile of the trail is wheelchair accessible. The next .6of a mile is pretty strenuous as it climbs the canyon walls.
In some places, the catwalk hangs between two rocks with Whitewater Creek flowing under the walkway.
There were several places where Chris and DeAnna could do their favorite activity--throw rocks in the water.
We made it the 1 mile marker and decided to keep going to the end (1.1. miles).

We saw rushing water the whole way.
When we got to the end of the trail Chris was disappointed that the trail didn't go further! Under the overhang, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees.

We enjoyed our walk and our drive to Catwalk. We had to go through 2 fords to reach the trail. Here is the one nearest the trail.
Since there is no cell phone or internet connection in Glenwood, we spent a quiet evening around the campfire. Everyone enjoyed eating s'mores and marshmallows.
Friday we would move on to Petrified Forest National Park.

Bob and I stayed in El Paso a week. Bobby was able to reschedule the movers from May 4th until May 13th so they would have furniture up to the time he would be able to sign out on leave.

We enjoyed our stay, even though the kids were just getting better from some serious colds. As usual, we didn't take many pictures while we were there. It seemed we were always too busy to take time to get the camera.
I did get it while Grandpa and the kids were reading The Cat in the Hat.
After a trip to the commissary, we packed the rv and the grandkids to head for City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico. Bob and I visited the park twice on our first big trip and we knew it was a place Chris and DeAnna would enjoy. It was a short drive from El Paso (about 2 1/2 hours).

As we neared the park, we were once again amazed to see the rocks standing in the middle of the desert. We found a great boondocking (no electric or water hook-ups) site and set up camp.
While I fixed lunch for the hungry campers, Grandpa took the kids to explore the rocks across from our site.
After lunch and a short break, I went back to explore the rocks with Chris and DeAnna while Bob took his afternoon nap. I didn't take the camera since we would be climbing and sliding down the rocks.

Just before dinner, we all went back to show Grandpa the secret spots we found on our first extensive exploration. Here we are at our tribal circle deciding what to show Grandpa.We found a secret room that had a built-in sofa.
We played all day and slept well Tuesday night. Wednesday morning we were ready to play on the rock playground again!

As you can see we are dressed much differently Wednesday. The weather turned cooler and we wore jackets and hats most of the day.After exploring the rocks and finding a treasure (geocache) we drove north to see if the big trucks were operating at Santa Rita Copper Mine. But, just like last visit, the slopes of the mine were empty. As we were leaving, one big truck started its trek up the far slope, but it was too far away for the kids to see how big it was.

Back to the rv for lunch and then back to the rocks for more playing! Chris and DeAnna thought the rocks were the best playground ever!Chris loved to scamper up steep-sided rocks.
DeAnna found rocks to sit on and lay under.
Each morning at breakfast we looked out the window to watch the jack rabbits scurrying around looking for their breakfast. City of Rocks has large jack rabbits and small bunnies. We scared several as we hike around the rocks.

Thursday is moving day. We will drive US 180 north through Silver City. No telling where we will stop for the night.

Amarillo and Return to Oliver Lee

The wind kept up for most of the day. We pulled into the Amarillo Visitor Center where we planned to spend the night. Many rvers reported it as a safe, quiet place to boondock. As we pulled into the parking lot, we decided it was the place for us!
We found a good, level spot in the trucker lot. After a short rest, we unhooked the car and explored Amarillo and found a few caches along the way.One thing we discovered is that Amarillo is spread in many directions. The Big Texan (famous for its 72 ounce steaks) was only an exit away, but since we ate there last time, we passed.

Bob was interested in seeing Cadillac Ranch. For those of you who have never heard of Cadillac Ranch, it is an expression of helium millionaire Stanley Marsh 3. He planted 10 Cadillacs aging in vintage from 1949-1963. Yes, I said planted. They are in a wheat field near defunct Route 66, but very active I-40.They are all facing west at the same angle as Cheops' pyramids. They are covered with graffiti, much of which has peeled off and been repainted many, many times.
It was amazing how many spray paint cans and lids littered the surrounding area.

We returned to the rv and had a peaceful night at the visitor center. We did pose for a photo op with the sculptures.
As we drove through Canyon, Texas, we couldn't resist getting a picture of another Texas travel icon--Tex Randall. He stands 47 feet tall and his foot rests on a now closed gift shop. At one time, the local Levi Strauss plant kept him in new jeans. Everyone soon found that wind can cause Levi's to fail.
He had to be stuccoed and his clothes were painted on his huge body. He also quit smoking in 1989 as to not offend health conscious visitors. He now holds a spur.

Sunday we drove south toward El Paso, but once again the wind was against us. We stopped at a New Mexico rest area. One thing about New Mexico and Texas, they still have picnic areas that will accommodate our rig on non-interstate highways Eighty-two miles from Bobby and Cathy's house we decided to stop. Oliver Lee Memorial State Park was the place for us. We stayed here in 2007 on our first big trip and we visited it with Chris and DeAnna in 2008. Both visits were in fall. The cacti were interesting and the grass was brown, but this time everything was in bloom! We found a great spot looking out into the valley.
The blooms were colorful and surprising! The ocotillos have brown thorny stalks with a firecracker-like burst of color on the tips.
Hedgehog cactus has blooms or buds all over its surface.Prickly pear, barrel and cholla are also blooming.Creosote bushes filled the air with a tar smell after the morning rain. They also had small yellow blooms.We took a short hike Monday morning and then it was off to Bobby and Cathy's to get some much needed hugs!

Day of Exploring and Moving On--April 30, 2010

Friday we took the time to explore this section of Oklahoma through caching. After an early start (9:30) we set off to find the Red Rock Run which was a series of 78 caches on the road to Red Rock Canyon State Park. We found all but one! Also along the way, we picked up three more finds so we beat our personal best in caching with 80 finds for the day.

We saw some interesting sights on our drive to Red Rock. City of El Reno Municipal Air Park was used by the Army Air Corps until 1945.
Another cache was located near an oil drilling rig.Along the way we saw wheat and alfalfa fields.
Red Rock Canyon State Park is located in Hinton, OK. Driving by the area you would never know that there was a canyon nearby. Most of the countryside was flat with a few gently rolling hills.
On the way back to the rv we stopped at historic Ft. Reno just outside the city limits of El Reno. Ft. Reno was established in 1874 as military camp. It became a military post in 1876. Some of the buildings have been renovated. The chapel was one. And yes, there was supposed to be a geocache near the chapel, but we couldn't find it.
Other buildings are in the process of being renovated. Most of those were officers' houses.

In its last days as a military post, Ft. Reno was a remount depot. Mules and horses were raised. One famous horse raised was Black Jack--the riderless horse in the funeral processions of JFK, MacArthur, and LBJ.

During WWII, Ft. Reno was a prisoner of war camp for Germans captured in North Africa. Many of the POWs were hired by local farmers to work in their fields. Some built the chapel at Ft. Reno. The military cemetery has the remains of sixty-one German POWs from camps in Oklahoma and eight Italian POWs from the camp in Hereford, TX.

Saturday is a travel day. As I write this, we are traveling I40 west toward Amarillo. We should be in El Paso Monday.