#4 New Mexico & Home

Painted Desert Visitor Center Less than 0.5 mile from the I-40 exit is the Painted Desert Visitor Center (8am-5pm daily Sept. 20-Apr. 4, 7am-7pm daily Apr. 5-Sept. 19), which houses books, petrified wood exhibits, and park information. A film about the park is shown continuously throughout the day. The visitors center is adjacent to a restaurant, gift shop, and gas station; restrooms are available.

Painted Desert Rim Trail The Painted Desert Rim Trail has remarkable views of the Painted Desert. Approximately one mile after the northern park entrance is the pull-off for Tawa Point, where the Painted Desert Rim Trail begins. The trail travels along the canyon rim and includes several information panels about the wildlife, geology, and ancient people of the region. In 0.5 mile, you’ll reach the Painted Desert Inn and then Kachina Point with its panoramic views of the red, orange, pink, and purple rocks. From Kachina Point, the trail enters a 5- to 8-million-year-old volcanic area. Once you reach Kachina Point, turn around and head back to the Tawa Point parking lot.

Petrified logs in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park. Petrified logs in Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park. Photo © Andrey Bayda/123rf. Painted Desert Inn The restored 1924 Painted Desert Inn is 2 miles north on the park road. The inn was built with wood and stone in the Pueblo Revival style with flagstone terraces and earth-textured walls that are two feet thick. In 1940, the Fred Harvey Company managed the place to serve passengers traveling the Santa Fe Railway, then it closed in 1942.

In 1947, architect Mary Jane Colter renovated the inn with a new color scheme and glass windows to display the surrounding landscape—a pioneering style of architecture that brought inside the essence of the outdoors. The interior lunchroom, where the Harvey Girls served hungry train passengers, features murals painted by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie. The inn closed again in 1963 and was scheduled for demolition in 1976. The National Park Service stepped in to list it on the National Register of Historic Places and saved it. In 1987, the secretary of the interior designated the inn a National Historic Landmark.

The Painted Desert Inn reopened in 2006. Though it no longer operates as a hotel and restaurant, the museum and bookstore feature extraordinary architectural details, such as hammered-tin chandeliers, local pottery, and a vivid mountain lion petroglyph, one of the finest in the region.

Route 66 Studebaker The park road circles back toward I-40 heading south; however, you cannot access the interstate at this point. Right before you approach I-40, look west on the right side of the road for a rusted 1932 Studebaker that marks an old Route 66 alignment.

Newspaper Rock in Arizona's Petrified Forest. Newspaper Rock in Arizona’s Petrified Forest. Photo © Liane Harrold/123rf. Newspaper Rock Heading south on the park road, you will reach Newspaper Rock on the west (right) side of the road. Newspaper Rock contains more than 650 petroglyphs etched into its boulders and offers a glimpse of the people who lived here in the Puerco River Valley close to 2,000 years ago.

Blue Mesa Trail The Blue Mesa Trail is a moderately strenuous 1-mile hike among bluish-bentonite clay badlands and petrified wood. The trailhead starts at the Blue Mesa sun shelter just past Newspaper Rock.

Rainbow Forest Museum At the south end of the park is the Rainbow Forest Museum (off Hwy. 180, 8am-5pm daily Sept. 20-Apr. 4, 7am-7pm daily Apr. 5-Sept. 19). Museum exhibits include prehistoric animals and petrified wood. A film about the park and the creation of petrified wood is screened every half hour. A gift shop and snack bar are nearby; restrooms are available.

Back on 66 towards Holbrook Drive 28 miles south through the park and exit from the south entrance. Take U.S. 180 for 19 miles north to rejoin I-40/Route 66 at Holbrook.

Stewart’s Rock Shop Since it’s a big no-no to take any petrified wood from the park, you can get some at Stewart’s Rock Shop (Hwy I-40 Exit 303, Washboard Rd., Holbrook, 800/414-8533, 9am-5pm daily), 13 miles east of Holbrook. It’s part trading post, part garage sale sitting in a strange folk art sculpture garden. They sell meteorites, dinosaur bones, tree stumps, bookends, and jewelry made from petrified wood. The property also has ostriches (with eggs for sale), sun-blasted vintage cars, quirky dinosaur sculptures like a T. rex with a mannequin hanging out of its mouth. This place is so awesomely odd with a tinge of creepiness it makes it worth a stop.

So the petrified forest and painted desert are one so when you enter the park you're actually entering two parks. This is a great drive-through, be prepared with plenty of gas it is about 30 miles but doesn't take long.

The Painted Desert is the first portion of this worthwhile drive-thru park when entering from I-40. It was beautiful to say the least. I'd suggest stopping in the gift shop on the way in to get the lay of the land so to speak. Following the winding road through the park also took us into the Petrified Forest where we enjoyed even more beautiful scenery.

We stopped along the road numerous times so it took us about 2 hours to go through both. The southern park (Petrified Forest area) exit put us on a highway that angled right back up to I-40.

Well worth the diversion, we would recommend it.

Best known for globally significant Late Triassic fossils, the park attracts many researchers. Geologists study the multi-hued Chinle Formation. Archeologists research over 13,000 years of history. Biologists explore one of the best remnants of native Arizona grassland. Air quality is an ongoing study in the park. Discover your own passion at Petrified Forest! Petrified Forest was set aside as a national monument in 1906 to preserve and protect the petrified wood for its scientific value.

Scientific studies are on-going at the park. Paleontologists find new fossils, including new species of plants and animals, each year. Biologists study living plants and animals, including vegetation surveys and reptile, amphibian, and mammal projects. Air quality, weather, and seismic monitoring stations constantly generate new data. The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees that lived in the Late Triassic, about 225 million years ago. The sediments containing the fossil logs are part of the widespread and colorful Chinle Formation, from which the Painted Desert gets its name. Beginning about 60 million years ago, the Colorado Plateau, of which the park is part, was pushed upward by tectonic forces and exposed to increased erosion. All of the park's rock layers above the Chinle, except geologically recent ones found in parts of the park, have been removed by wind and water. In addition to petrified logs, fossils found in the park have included Late Triassic ferns, cycads, ginkgoes, and many other plants as well as fauna including giant reptiles called phytosaurs, large amphibians, and early dinosaurs. Paleontologists have been unearthing and studying the park's fossils since the early 20th century. $20.00 Auto/7-day pass $10.00 Bicycle and walkers/per person $10.00 Motorcycle (flat fee) $30.00 Petrified Forest National Park Annual Pass

Yellowhorse LTD, Lupton, Arizona, Navajoland USAToday, located in Arizona at the border of Arizona and New Mexico at Interstate 40. The Yellowhorse Family actively welcomes the traveling tourist from their Navajo-Owned trading post on the Navajo reservation. It all started in the 1950's from a roadside stand that the Yellowhorse family started selling Navajo rugs and petrified wood to the passer-by vacationers. Traveling route 66 was an adventure in itself, and stops were far in between. So the need to stop and stretch along with the gnawing curiosity to meet with the Navajo family was the ingredient for success and great memories for everyone. In the '60s, Juan and Frank Yellowhorse, tidy up some at the newly constructed trading post, not far from the rug stand. The addition of gas pumps selling Shell gas, and new signs along Route 66, were constructed.

Don't let the bright facade fool you. My wife and I stopped here. They had a good collection of jewelry and some Navajo pottery. Besides the roadside inventory of modestly priced necklaces and rugs, Alvin Yellowhorse (and others in his family) are jewelry designers. Have the shopkeeper guide you to the best in-house or Alvin can do custom designs to add to your turquoise collection.