Walmart Grants, New Mexico
Mileage: 52,133
I noticed on the map that the Petrified National Forest was just off of 40. I knew we were meant to be going home so I didn’t get my hopes up too high…but we decided to go!
This was a spectacular day. Even though this park is a short distance from the highway, it is entirely obscured from view. You would never realize that it is there. This is truly a hidden gem. When you turn the corner and see the Painted Desert for the first time, it is like opening a present. The dramatic clouds, the shifting sun and shadows, the burnished coppery rock formations, and the vast expansiveness are awe-inspiring. Layers upon layers of rock…layers of time.
We traveled from the Painted Desert to Puerco Pueblo. Here there are remnants of masonry walls built between 1250-1300 AD.
There is a summer solstice calendar. The native people would have used this to determine the longest day of the year. This was helpful for planting crops. There are about a dozen of these calendars in the park. Although it just looks like a rock, it is actually fairly sophisticated and accurate.
There are petroglyphs as well.
Blue Mesa was our breakfast spot.
Teepee.
When you imagine a forest, I bet you imagine green trees. The Petrified Forest is unlike any other forest. In order for the wood to petrify, it must be buried, therefore; all of the “wood” is rock; metamorphosed, fallen, and exposed.
We were meant to turn around halfway but we ended up driving the whole 26-mile distance through the park.
This took us to a rear entrance and out the “backdoor.” From there we took the roads less traveled and drove through the countryside. We saw distant pronghorns grazing in the tall grasses. We saw ranches.
We saw sagebrush, stumpy, squatty pinyon trees, and mustard yellow desert flowers.
We drove through Navajo Nation where there were signs not to photograph cultural or religious activities…RESPECT!
The imposing mesas in the distance were in New Mexico.
We are staying in a Walmart in Grants, New Mexico. Supplies gathered and then a bike ride at sunset.
Look for the beauty wherever you go!
