Month: June 2024

Junkyard Brewery and Petrified Forest National Park

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment
20240608_1843044139092396435407792

We said goodbye to New Mexico and made our way into Arizona. We found a brewery on Route 66 that we could stay the night, have a beer or 3 and enjoy a simple dinner. It happened to be the same day as a memorial for an old friend of ours who was himself a brewer, and we were able to raise a glass of delicious beer and toast to his good memory with a beer he would approve. We could not be back in Louisiana for the service, but Tom was on our minds and in our hearts.

20240608_1852505060928211344214383

The brewery sat in a junkyard, and we parked in the cleared out middle for a restful night, ready to go sightsee the next day.

We got moving early the next morning and headed to Petrified Forest National Park. Route 66 originally ran through the middle of the park, and this old Studebaker marks where it used to cross.

We entered the park from the north entrance, and drove through the entire park to the south entrance (exit for us). The park runs through part of the Painted Desert, ancient dwellings, petroglyphs, and the remains of an ancient forest. It is also one the the most dog friendly, if not the most dog friendly national parks. The entrance ranger made sure we knew that Murphy was welcome on every trail.

The Painted Desert

The colors and textures mesmerized us

Pueblo Village and Archeological Site

As we drove towards the Pueblos, a train passed under us. These ruins contain a pueblo that had over 100 rooms and also gave us our first glimpse of petroglyphs.

Newspaper Rock

This national park has over 650 petroglyphs, most of them on “Newspaper Rock.” There is also a more famous Newspaper Rock in Utah that has been featured on the TV show Ancient Aliens. I’m not sure if this one was featured as well, but I would not be surprised.

Petrified Wood

Petrified wood is wood that has turned to stone. In fact, it is Washington’s state gemstone. I took a picture of the process that was posted in the museum.

The Petrified Forest National Park left me very contemplative about life. To look at a desert and actually realize that at one time, it was a lush forest with rivers and trees, really brought home that our existence as a species is just a blip to the planet. Entire cultures of people have come and gone from this place for over 100,000 years. One day we too will just be remembered by what was left behind, like the petroglyphs and the Pueblo ruins we ponder and study today.

One Hot Stay in New Mexico

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico has a lovely campground. We spent one night there last year on our drive to the West Coast and wanted to spend more time exploring the area. We settled in for a week, and as we did so, reality of desert living in June started to sink in.

Our campsite had no electric or water, which is what we had chosen to put our camper to the test. It also did not have any shade to speak of, and it got hot! We were cautious when running our AC, as we did not want to deplete our batteries, but when it was over 100 outside, and the camper got over 90 inside, it was time to crank the air. We learned that it is easier to try to maintain a temperature instead of letting it get super hot and then trying to cool things down. With the AC working so hard, we had to supplement our batteries with the generator. We did find of good balance of generator and battery power to keep everything running smoothly. One thing we have learned over the past year is that the AC will cool the camper 15 or so degrees cooler than the temperature outside, especially if there is no shade. Honestly, when it is 100 and higher outside 80-85 inside feels pretty good. We also have multiple fans to keep air flowing and keep us more comfortable. Murphy does not like it hot, and he always found the coolest spots in the camper to nap and relax. He usually planted himself directly in front of a fan.

Because of the heat, we did not do much hiking or exploring. The lake was super low and not really accessible. Even staying close to the site and camper, there were beautiful cacti, flowers, and juniper trees to photograph and enjoy.

Dramatic skies would tease us with clouds that looked like rain, but the rain never fell. The skies also gave us beautiful sunsets.

After a week of sweating, it was time for us to say goodbye to Santa Rosa. We were heading west again, with Arizona on our radar.

Spending the Night in a Ghost Town

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

We said goodbye to Oklahoma and drove into the Texas Panhandle. We were on our way to New Mexico, but needed an overnight stop in between. We found a Harvest Host in Clarendon, Texas. It is a farm with a historic ghost town on the property.

Jericho began as a railroad stop to load cattle. At its highest, the town grew to a population of 100. It had a post office, and when Route 66 was constructed, it got a hotel. There are two remaining structures left of this small town, the hotel, and another building. We are not sure what the other building was. There is also this old water tower. Aaron, Murphy, and I enjoyed walking around the ruins of a time gone by.

The Abandoned Hotel

It was fun to play with my camera and catch the different light, shadows, and textures of the place.

The Other Standing Building

Out in the fields there are foundations from other building buried in the ground. There is also an old rusted out car that we could not identify. There was another couple staying the night as well. The gentleman had a metal detector and was looking for old Civil War items. He had been told that some had been found in the fields. I am not sure if he found anything or not.

Overall, it was a great stay. We did not have any encounters with ghosts in the ghost town, but we did have a lot of windmills, and a beautiful sunset.

After a really good night’s sleep, we continued our wander west. Our next stop will be a week at Santa Rosa State Park in New Mexico.

Our Last Stay in Oklahoma

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

After grocery shopping, we settled into our two week home at Kiowa Park in Texoma. This park is situated on Waurika Lake. The previous week, we had stayed on the other side of the lake. We had made this reservation well in advance because is was going to be over the Memorial Day weekend. We had learned our lesson last year, that planning ahead for holiday weekends was really important. We did not want to risk not having a spot, or having to drive a really long distance by not planning ahead.

During the beginning of our stay, we had a few neighbors, but no one really close. As Memorial Day Weekend crept closer, the park began to fill. That was OK. We are fortunate enough to camp and enjoy nature all the time. Most people do not, so we do not begrudge crowded parks over the holidays. This year, our neighbors were very polite and friendly. For that we are grateful. During the week, we really enjoyed the park. Over the weekend, we stayed inside most of the time, and let our neighbors enjoy their boats, their family time, and the lake itself. We used the time inside to clean, reset, tape a few naps, and catch up on some TV.

The skies here were terrific, and changing constantly due to Texoma being in tornado alley, and it being spring. The following pitcures are some of my favorite sky shots from our stay.

There were also wild blackberries growing next to our site. Of course I had to pick some, but left most for the birds and bunnies. There were wildflowers, butterflies, bunnies, birds, and lots of geese, with even more baby geese.

I spent a lot of time down at the shore of the lake so Murphy could swim and swim. I swear he was a fish in his past life. He did have a standoff with some geese in the water, they did not come to his part of the shore, but he decided there were too many to chase after.

We really enjoyed our last two weeks in Oklahoma. I had never imagined that we would spend a month in Oklahoma, but I am really glad we did. We got to see family, and we learned that Oklahoma is a beautiful state with various terrain. I had always thought that it was a state of plains, but there is so much more to Oklahoma than that.

It was time to head west again. Our next stop is a quick overnight at a Harvest Host. We were headed to an old Route 66 ghost town in Texas.