UPDATED: Amazing Beauty -- photos attached!

This is the PAINTED DESERT

We had a full day of beauty -- first natural beauty at the National Petrified Forest.

These are a few of my photos (since I was driving, I only took 150 or so shots but my mother blew through another set of batteries taking photos -- probably close to 600 just that day).


Our two or three hour tour through the forest turned into almost six hours there... we just couldn't tear ourselves away.

I saw these birds chilling in the shade and threw them some dried fruit, and then they proceeded to follow us along the road and come up to the car each time we stopped -- my dad was not convinced it was the same bird until I caught him flying alongside us.

These are the Pueblo Puerto Ruins and Petroglyphs




I had planned to get to Winslow before 2pm so that we could have lunch at La Posada and then head towards Prescott via Sedona for more beautiful landscape.

Well, by the time we got to Winslow, it was 4 pm. The weren't serving dinner until 5, so I made a reservation. We bought a self guided tour booklet and wandered around the building and grounds. I haven't been there since 2002, so there was much that had been restored.

I discovered this place via NPR back when I was commuting 45 miles each way and surviving off the magic of the story in ugly turnpike traffic. I made it a point on my cross country trek to the new job to stop in Winslow and stay over. I stayed in the Mary Coulter Room and treated myself to a fantastic dinner at the Turquoise Room.

I wanted my parents to experience this place, so after our tour, we had drinks in the Martini Bar and then had a fabulous dinner -- my dad had the Churro Lamb (only available at this restaurant), my mom had the fillet mignon, and I had the Colorado Elk. YUM -- not to mention the chocolate souffle for dessert.