LEAF VERDE to PETRIFIED FOREST NP
25 Apr
Today’s drive to Petrified Forests was to be about 5 hour. However, there was a vehicle overturned on I-17 a two lane highway causing there to be a back-up. Second, the cross winds at 7,000 feet was strong and our rig was moving all over the road. We had to stop for gas at a Flying J’s that had RV parking and we decided to spend the night and finish the drive in the morning.
26 Apr
Today’s drive to Petrified Forests was to be about 5 hour. However, there was a vehicle overturned on I-17 a two lane highway causing there to be a back-up. Second, the cross winds at 7,000 feet was strong and our rig was moving all over the road. We had to stop for gas at a Flying J’s that had RV parking and we decided to spend the night and finish the drive in the morning.
While driving on I-40 heading towards Petrified Forest NP we
saw two more sights we would like to see on our way back West to the Grand
Canyon NP. One was Walnut Canyon NM. Another NM I can check off the list. The
other was Meter Crater. After looking up Meter Crater information at the free
Wi-Fi at Flying J’s, Meter Crater is a tourist “got ya” price of $16 a person.
It would have been nice to see, but $32 for the both of us just to see a hole
in the ground… we believed was overpriced.
We spent the night at Flying J's, about one hour away from our first destination of Petrified Forest NP. After six months with it raining only one day in Buckeye, AZ, we was woken this morning by rain falling on the RV roof. As the day would go on we would also encounter more wind, fog & snow. Oh, how I miss the 90 degree weather in Southern AZ.
We renewed our Annual National Park Pass for $80.Hopeful after four or five National Parks the card would pay for it's self and the remaining parks we see in the next 12 months is like free money in the bank. Entrance fee is $10 a vehicle. Surprisingly, petrified wood is commonly located all over the word. However, Petrified Forest National Park has the biggest collection of petrified wood in one single location. We walked the trails in the park and saw tree stumps scattered across the open fields. These fallen trees fossilized over 225 millions years ago and still remains today for everyone to enjoy. You can look and touch but don't take. You can buy or even get free petrified wood at the store located in the park or two stores just located outside the park. They all sells petrified wood and geodes along with other items.
As we got ready to leave the park the clouds got dark and snow started to fall. As the snow started to fall harder and the winds picking up, we pulled off the highway and stopped at Twin Arrows Casino in hopes of holding out for better weather. After serving in the Navy and making it home safely after ever tour, I valid I would not die on the road by dumb weather or dumb drivers. I don't care how long it take me to get somewhere as long as we arrive in one piece. I don't know if because I'm getting older or wiser, but that has been on my mind every time I start the RV.
To help in staying warm and to past the time after we ate dinner in the RV we went into the casino. We went to the new membership counter and got our players cards. We started out winners before we even started, I found a dime on the floor and $.03 in a slot, so I printed it's ticket. Without spending a pennies we were up $.13 and beating the house. Each of us started with our own $10 in hand and we tried to continue our winning ways. About 30 minutes later we stopped playing slots and was up $18.65 + the $.13 we found for a grand total of $18.78 profit. Needless to say, we took the money and ran before our luck ran out and returned to our home and buried ourselves under the blankets to keep warm until morning.
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