Saturday we had a decision before us: How to most fully enjoy our final day of this epic weekend of sight seeing… hang around the ranch, do some target shooting, maybe a short hike, do some driving lessons? Or go all out on the touristy end of things and try to fit another day of photos and fun before heading home? Well, there was much discussion over our ranch eggs and bacon breakfast, and after the final vote, we opted to have the girls who wanted to shoot go do that while the rest of us packed up, and then we would head to Petrified Forest, hike and drive through, take pictures, and then come home via I40, Flagstaff, and I17.
We have been to Petrified Forest many times with various guests, so we wanted to skip the “small stuff” this time and hit some new sites as well as our major destination – Blue Mesa. We’d never been to Jasper Forest before, so that was our first stop. Very pretty views from the lookout, some big petrified logs, and one incredibly bold and unnerving large raven. Then it was Blue Mesa, which (as you can see in the above pic) has a trail that you can take down from the top and through the colorful hills. I myself have never taken that trail, but Paul and the bigger kids went down and got some pics at the bottom, one of which I turned into a rather cool b&w pic that someone suggested looked like an album cover. 😀 Fun! We stopped at a couple of places in the Painted Desert as well before wrapping it up and heading for Flagstaff.
The drive home was harrowing and I will again say, I hate driving at night, I hate mountain driving, I hate driving over 75mph while surrounded by semi trucks, and pretty much I want to be able to wiggle my nose and transport myself instantly wherever I like from now on. Sigh. Oh for a glorified body. Someday!
