Petrified Forest II

November 6,
We drove though some beautiful landscapes littered with petrified logs of various sizes. We stopped at The Crystal Forest where many of the logs had crystals in them, though many were taken by earlier tourist before the strict regulations were in place. On the way out of The Crystal Forest I saw the yellow flower(pic 4). The butterflies were only about1/2 inch long.

Petrified Forest

Novembere 6,
Giant Logs Trail is behind the Visitors Center. It features some of the largest and most colorful logs in the park. I had not thought that the petrified wood could be so vividly colored. There is a gift shop before the entrance that sells polished slices of petrified wood for thousands. They showed one as a table-gorgeous.

Squirrels and Jays

November 1-4
When we went to the Grand Canyon, the Abert Squirrel was mentioned as one of the species living in that area. We were told that they lived in the Ponderosa Pines near the Village. We saw deer by the train tracks and elk in a couple of places, but no squirrels. The next morning, however, at the campground, there they were. We were never able to get a count-they move too quickly but they slowed enough for pictures.
The other beautiful resident of the campground was the Stellar's Jay. The interior variety has white forehead streaks but the iridescent blue was the same when the sun hit their feathers. One morning a flock of at least 30 birds was flitting around the pines........

Sedona with Keith

November 4,
We got in touch with Keith, Dan's longtime friend to show us around Sedona. Keith moved from Hebron 9 years ago and proved to be a very capable guide. We went South in the morning and saw The Guardians(pic 1) and many other beautiful views. The views were enhanced by the fall color that we did not expect in Arizona. After lunch at a nice restaurant, we headed north and UP. All the jeep tours head up this dirt mountain road for views of the red rock and more mountains to the South(pic 4). We were not terribly impressed with the town of Sedona. It seemed to be just a long series of tourist trap shops.
The elevation in Sedona is about 3,000 feet less than Flagstaff and the road was a series of hairpins and curves. The walls of rock, going up, were very impressive and for once there were guardrails!

Wupatki Nat'l Monument

November 3,
Continuing through Sunset Crater, we entered the Wupatki Nat'l Monument. In this area are numerous Indian ruins. Many of them are perched on elevated rock formations. Some of them had as many as 100 rooms. They were the homes of the Indians who planted crops on small plateaus in this very dry area. Water, for living was either caught when it rained or taken from the Little Colorado River-ten miles away.

Sunset Crater

November 3,
We headed for Sunset Crater -the youngest of the dormant volcanoes in the Flagstaff area. As we looked at the crater, we had a great view of the San Francisco Peaks(pic 1). As we toured around Flagstaff, we could often see the peaks.
The eruption of volcan0s left many lava fields(pic 3with the fall color) and cinder cones(pic 4).

El Tovar

November 2,
We finished our trip along the South Rim at El Tovar. That's Joe waving from the porch in picture 4. El Tovar is a beautiful and historic hotel located on the rim of the canyon. Joe, Deb and I stayed there over 20 years ago. We had dinner, at sunset, looking into the canyon. The next day we woke up to a snow storm that blocked all views and forced us to leave in the tracks of a V-plow. Our return trip allowed us to see all the beautiful scenes we missed.