Adventures of the Geritol Gypsy: Holbrook, AZ, who knew......

We arrived at the Elks in Holbrook, AZ, on Friday, August 19. Plenty of room to park even though they had a 200 quest wedding while we were there. This was dry camping but they had water and we were told there was a dump but it was very unlevel. This lodges camping is by donation.

A wedding reception was going on while we were there. I had never seen a wedding party in cowboy boots

After settling in , Jean and I went to the quilt store. All summer until September 6, every state has quilt stores participating the Row by Row Experience. You just visit the participating stores and receive a free pattern for the row of the quilt that the store has designed. You can buy the kit but if you only want the pattern, it is free. We are collecting the patterns.

If You Create a quilt using at least 8 different 2016 rows from 8 different 2016 participating RxR shops and be the first to bring it into a participating shop to win a stack of 25 fat quarters (6-1/4 yards of fabric!). Use that shop’s row in your quilt and win a bonus prize!

Example :

We figured that before the events ends, we can make 23 more shops. Did I tell you that I do not know how to quilt!!! I do plan on taking a quilting class while I am sitting still in Mesa.

You have heard of the song, Take it Easy, written by Jackson Browne and recorded by the Eagles. It was the bands first single recorded in 1972. Well, the story goes that Jackson Browne's car broke down in Winslow, Arizona, and he had to spend a day there. The city of Winslow erected a life size bronze statute and mural to commemorate the line that says

"well I'm standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona

such a fine sight to see

It's a girl, my Lord, in a flat bed Ford

Slowing down to look at me"

According to Browne a girl cruised by in a Toyota pickup and looked at him and the image struck.

Holbrook, Arizona, is part of Route 66. It was great to see this old historical site and it is still in use. This is the 6th Wigwam Hotel built. Today you can sleep in a wigwam for $62 a night for two double beds or 58 for a queen size bed. You get a full bathroom with shower, heat, AC, cable TV but no phone.

Holbrook is also the home of the Petrified National Park.

At one time Route 66 passed through the park. Jean and I drove the 28 mile park stopping for short hikes to get closer to the sights. Coming from Holbrook, we stopped at the Rainbow Forest Visitors Center and watched a short film about the park. In the center there is paleontological exhibits

And we took the 0.4 mile trail loop trail to see the giant petrified log. The petrified logs brilliant colors or due to trace minerals that soaked into the wood along with silica. Iron minerals provide bright mustard, orange, rich reds, ochre, and black. Manganese minerals cause blue, purple, brown, black and a fern like pattern. Now this petrified forest is not made of wood, but of stone.

Giant log

We then went to Crystal Forest and caught a ranger talk on the prehistoric animals in the area. Jean is holding a rock with the skeleton of a baby which is the picture the ranger is holding

We also stopped at Jasper Forest that had a high concentration of the petrified logs.

We took a short hike to Agate Bridge which is a 110 ft log that spans a gully.

Next stop was Blue Mesa, we drove the 3.5 mile loop but there is a 1 mile hike you can take.

The next stop was Newspaper Rock. You can look down to see 650 petroglyphs some as old as 2000 years.

Other scenes along the way

Flat top mountains

At Puerco Pueblo, you can take a short hike to see the Indian ruins and petroglyphs.

A little further down the road, A rusted 1932 Studebaker sits where Route 66 once cut through the park.

Then you get to the Painted Desert. The color was spectacular .

We stopped at the Painted Desert Inn. In the early 1920's, the inn was made of petrified wood but in Th 1930's, an adobe facade was added.

It is only a museum now but I saw signs that soon travelers can get ice cream and beverages.

Inside the inn

The inn was operated for 12 years as the Stone Tree House. You could get meals in the lunchroom, purchase American Indian arts and crafts and enjoy a cool drink downstairs taproom. Six small rooms, cubicles really, were available for two to four dollars a night. Unfortunately, the inn was built on bentonite clay. As the clay swells and shrinks in response to changes in moisture, the foundation of the inn shifted and began to show cracks in the wall and water damage.

This is an area worth visiting at different times of the day so you can see the area in different light.

I did a little crafting. I was in desperate need of a laptop bag and I had a couple pair of jeans I had picked up at the thrift store for a project.