11/30/13
Stoned Wood and a Cloudy Canyon
I woke up in the thick, misty fog of Arizona in Holbrook at the KOA. I had my propane filled, hopefully for the last time on the trip. I talked to the KOA manager and he was a bit surprised by the fog, but thought it would burn off by afternoon. I headed to the Petrified Forest to actually see the stoned wood. The science behind it is amazing. The beautiful pieces of petrified wood were concentrated in a few places. I went to those places and got some photos to try to capture the general area, as well as the beauty of each piece…
I also talked to a huge Raven for a bit. It was all puffed out…
The ranger at Petrified Forest was a little confused by the fog as well. He told a story of living and working there for 20 years. Yet, the other night he missed the signs because of the fog and drove 6 miles past his turn.
I headed to Grand Canyon National Park next. The fog was thick most of the way. The farther North I went, the more snow there was. I stopped at a rock shop and was stunned by this guy’s collection of fossils. Some for sale, others personal collection. The petrified wood was done in some beautiful forms and I wish I could have bought it all. Nonetheless I bought a tiny souvenir. I drove a little bit more on Route 66 and found this…
By the time I reached the park the fog was so thick that everyone had their emergency flashers on and drove very slow. I found it quite comical. As I went to the first view at the watchtower, a place I had been before, I laughed and took pictures because the “Grand View” was white. I moved on to the village to find a camping site. There was one patch of blue sky that I drove through. I got my site and went back to the blue sky. It was amazing how much the canyon looked like some mythical bottomless pit….Does it end?
I saw some elk grazing and almost hit one on the way back to my site.
I went to the general store for some provisions.The cashier was a local and amazed by this fog, calling it a “trip.” So this tells me it doesn’t happen often. I got back to my site to make some food and try to stay warm. The nighttime low is around 20 degrees. Good thing I filled up on my propane so I can run the heater.
I went to bed looking forward to a better view tomorrow…I hoped.
