Before we reached our destination for today, Meteor Crater RV Park, we stopped at Petrified Forest National Park, just off of I-40 near Holbrook, AZ. We were glad we did as we discovered another special place.
The park sits within the Painted Desert, a distinct ecosystem in the northeastern part of Arizona. The park is one of the best places in the world to see the fossil record from the Late Triassic Period. It encompasses the remnants of prehistoric forests, now petrified wood; plant and animal fossils; and artifacts of Ancestral Puebloan people including pottery, arrowheads, and petroglyphs dating back thousands of years.
The Petrified Forest is also part of a natural travel corridor that has been used for over 10,000 years. In 1853 the corridor was surveyed as a possible transcontinental railroad route and in 1857 the government contracted to build a wagon road through the area. In 1926 US Route 66 was established as one of the original highways in the US Highway System stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles. A section of the old highway passes through the park and has been preserved, the only section of the highway in the National Park System. The hulk of a 1932 Studebaker marks a portion of old Highway 66 in the park.
In 1906 the Petrified Forest National Monument was created and it became a National Park in 1962. Here is a link to more information about the park and the surrounding area:
We started our visit at the visitors center, watched a short movie about the history of the park and looked at the exhibits. There is also a nice café and gift shop there. We had lunch ordering Indian Fry Bread Tacos that were very good and we bought a few souveniors at the gift shop.
After lunch we took a driving tour of a portion of the park, stopping at various vista points. We also visited the restored Painted Desert Inn, a popular stop along Old Route 66. It is a National Historic Landmark and displays original furniture and outstanding murals describing various aspects of Hopi Indian life. There was also an 88 year old Navajo grandmother weaving authentic and very beautiful Navajo rugs. All were for sale along with a large collection of jewelry and necklaces.
After our visit to the park, we continued west for another 75 miles to our destination for the next two nights, Meteor Crater RV Park. The park is adjacent to a large meteor crater more than a mile across and over 500 ft deep. It is estimated that it hit the earth about 50,000 years ago.
Depending on the length of the Meteor Crater visit, we are also planning to backtrack a little and visit the town of Winslow, AZ, a stop on Route 66 and the town identified in the popular song by the Eagles, some may recall.
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