May 14-17

Back on Route 66 road after our detour to Ute Mountain.  Next stop was Holbrook, AZ to see the Petrified Forest, Meteor Crater and a special dinner at La Posada in Winslow.

The Petrified Forest National Park protects a vast landscape of colorful petrified wood, badlands and archaeological sites showcasing millions of years of history from the late Triassic period.  The park features the painted desert in the north and the Rainbow Forest in the south, connected by a 28-mile scenic drive with numerous trails, overlooks and historic Route 66 remnants.  We were able to walk among the park’s largest concentration of petrified trees with logs dating back 225 million years.  The logs look so real until you touch them and find that they are as hard as stone with so many brilliant colors.  The park makes it real clear that there is no taking of petrified wood no matter how small or large, looked like a real challenge for a lot of the little people (and big people) that we saw on the trails.

The Petrified Forest National Park is the only National Park in the US that a section of historic Route 66 runs directly through.  The park preserves traces of the old 1926 roadbed, original telephone poles and a rusted vintage Studebaker.

Meteor Crater is just west of Winslow, AZ it is the earth’s best preserved impact site.  This massive landmark is roughly 50,000 years old.  It spans nearly one mile in diameter and plunges 550 ft deep, created by a 150-foot-wide iron-nickel meteorite.  Because its rugged terrain resembles the lunar surface, NASA’s Apollo astronauts trained there in the 1960’s.  Despite an attempt to make the crater a public landmark, the crater today remains privately owned by the Barringer family.

Who is a fan of the Eagles and their famous song “Take It Easy” we are.  Their lyric from the song came to life:

Well I’m a standin on the corner in Winslow, Arizona

With such a fine sight to see

It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed ford

Slowin down to take a look at me

We literally stood on the corner, so much fun.

The 1930’s La Posada Hotel is one of the few Fred Harvey hotels standing, located in Winslow.  The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the Western United States.  It was founded in 1876 by Fred Harvey to cater to the growing number of train passengers.  The company, with its employees including the renowned waitresses later known as Harvey Girls successfully brought the standards of food service and cuisine to the region then mainly known as “the Wild West” In 1946 the Harvey Girls popularity grew even stronger when Judy Garland starred in the film version of the “The Harvey Girls” novel.

We had a great time exploring this old hotel and its history too included a fantastic dinner themed from one of the old Harvey House menus.

Bye bye Holbrook, hello Grand Canyon!