We were up at 6am this morning, ready to get on the road.
We got breakfast and coffee, then left
the quaint, mining, mountain town... heading west.
We admired the red and brown dirt mountains.
Such a beautiful variety!
We passed into Arizona and Pacific Time
and stopped at the welcome center.
The center was at he bottom of a big rock mountain.
It was a gorgeous sight!
Also, at the welcome center, I saw a sign that read,
"Poisonous snakes and insects inhabit the area".
I was ready to get back on the road. ;-)
Eventually, we arrived at The Petrified Forest National Park
and Painted Desert Center.
We enjoyed driving through he park, making stops,
getting out to look and explore.
In addition to the petrified wood and painted desert,
we got to see ancient petroglyphs that were etched in rock.
And we even saw a prairie dog by the road!
The children became Junior Rangers by doing a few activities
and received badges at the end of our visit.
It was a lot of fun and a fascinating trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As we headed toward Flagstaff, we were amazed to see
quite a few "dirt devils" ("tornadoes").
They were amazing to watch!
As we got closer to our destination,
among all of the desert, there was a snow-capped mountain!
It was so beautiful!
We exited at it (it was our original destination,
we just didn't know about the mountain!)
and then set up camp.
We enjoyed the view at he campsite all evening,
as it was at the base of a different mountain.
The beauty of God's creation is, truly, endless.
What a blessing it has been to see such a variety
of HIS handiwork as we travel!
"For the invisible things of Him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made,
even his eternal power and Godhead;
so that they are without excuse."
~ Romans 1:20
Monday, May 24...
We slept in until 8:30ish and lingered around
the campground at Fort Stockton until 11ish.
I tried to find the woman from last night but couldn't
so the lil' girls and I walked to the office, which was closed,
and prayerfully slipped a Gospel tract into the registration box.
As we were walking away, I saw a photo of her and her husband,
standing under signs that read,
"Nothing is impossible with God" and
"Where will you spend eternity?"
It was encouraging to see but I was sorry
that I didn't get a chance to speak to her.
I pray the LORD uses the tract.
While we were at the campsite, we saw
a tarantula-looking spider crawling outside!
It was large! Ugh!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We checked out and headed down the road
so Carolynne and Daddy could see a doctor.
Both are being treated for bronchitis.
While there, we watched an amazing storm wall
slowly pass us by. It was scary looking but beautiful.
We picked up their medication, ate lunch, got fuel,
and got on the road, happily leaving the storm clouds behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We got on the highway, continuing our journey westward.
The road was very long and desert-looking
and it was, oh, so hot, especially win no air on.
But the skies were an endless ocean of beautiful blue,
puffy white clouds, and silhouettes of mountains
lined the horizon through the fog of humidity.
We stopped along the long road help someone
but their help was already soon arriving.
Interestingly, the man was on his way to
the Grand Canyon (our next stop) to be a ranger.
We were soon back on the road, passing into New Mexico
and switching our clocks back an hour to mountain time.
We traveled through Roswell without any UFO sightings ; -)
The roads through New Mexico were long, too...
Long, empty highway roads with a desert view...
But I enjoyed the sights!
What I thought were hills were, I believe, the Guadalupe Mountains.
They are much different than the Smokey Mountains
that I've been accustomed to. They were beautiful.
There was some tension while traveling today.
I spent much time talking win the LORD,
trying to practice a meek and quiet spirit
and trying to remember that
a soft answer turneth away wrath (other's & my own).
The desert-like roads went on and on.
They were wide, long, and empty...
almost like a small airport runway.
There was a lot of incline, too, which slowed us down.
Cows, and lots of them, were found often
in the middle of what seemed like nowhere.
Towards dusk, the long roads reflected the bright sun
and they looked as if they were covered with water.
Miles and miles of land. .. so much beauty
in this seemingly, untouched part of our country.
When traveling down these long roads, it came in handy
that we were towing our own restroom. ;-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About 7:30 pm, we were getting a break in the heat
as the sun began to set, looking like a giant, close fireball.
The breezes Began to get cooler.
As the sun got closer to setting, it looked as if
it were melting into a shimmering, fiery puddle
as it started to disappear behind the mountains. Beautiful!
As we traveled through Albuquerque at night,
the city lights glistened... a different kind of beauty. ;-)
We traveled to a stop shortly before Gallup
and picked a comfy spot in a W*l-m*rt parking lot
to bunk for the rest of the night.
We all drifted off into a deep sleep quickly
and were thankful to rest for the night. ;-)
Photo Journal of this day can be found HERE
