Route 66 Petrified Forest

From Holbrook, I headed to the southern end of the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.  The Petrified Forest is in the southern end of the park and the Painted Desert is in the northern end. If I had it to do again, I'd enter the Painted Desert at the northern tip right off Hightway 40/Route 66, but for some reason, the guidebook didn't say that was possible and I ended up driving the full length of the park 3 times. 

I parked at the lower end, right outside the park, in a small FREE Crystal Forest Shop campground run by tourist shop there.  The lady there was nice, and said as long as I had a toilet, I could park there free for up to 10 days. 

HOWEVER, for some weird reason (people without toilets?) the FLIES were CRAZY!  I'm talking 50 flies if I opened my van door for 2 minutes. I wasn't too happy about staying there, honestly, due to the flies. Otherwise, it would have been fine and I bet the stars would have been magnificent that night!

I left my ice chest and chair in my camping spot, the one under the big tree she suggested that had shade all day, and headed up the 20-something mile road to see the Petrified Forest, then the Painted Desert at the other end. Once I got up at the northern end of the park, I saw the sign that told me I could get back on Hwy 40 there!

I looked at the map and it was closer than going all the way around. If I'd not left my ice chest and chair, I could have just hopped onto the highway there, but the chair is special to me, so I drove back down to retrieve it. Then I drove back UP and stopped at the points I'd passed before due to the number of tourists in the parking lots. The park is self-guided, with pull-outs at the important points. It was pretty busy, so I'd passed some points, and was happy to have the opportunity to stop and see the ones I'd missed.

A beautiful specimen of petrified wood at the Visitor Center

Always look UP!

YIKES!

The best place to see the petrified logs up close is the Visitor Center Trail

Campsite is at  GPS: 34.79245, -109.890915

Route 66 - the JACKRABBIT!

Here It Is!

I arrived at the Jackrabbit, and met a couple from Eugene Oregon.

They were doing Route 66 in a convertible, and graciously offered to take my photo on the jackrabbit!

The shop was closed, so I got back on Route 66 and headed for Joseph City.

 

Route 66 - Little Colorado River Gorge

One of the places I stopped was at this Little Colorado River Gorge Interpretive Center. There is a donation fee - and lots of Native American art and jewelry sold here as well.  It was certainly worth the stop, and the canyon was nearly as breathtaking as the Grand Canyon itself.

Those green specks at the bottom are large trees.

See the people at the top to get perspective of how deep this canyon is.

The Four Sacred Mountains:

Here is a map of other Interpretive Sites and Monuments worth seeing.

From here,  continued on toward Flagstaff where I planned to stop for a week or so and camp with some van friends. I was shocked to see tons of smoke billowing over the valley as I drove in and my heart sank. I got online and learned that the Forest Service was doing controlled burns to help stop a wildfire in the area.  This changed my plans, as I cannot tolerate smoke with my MCS.

I found a mail lady and asked her if she knew anything about the fires and if she thought Walnut Canyon would be affected, as that was my next stop. She thought I'd be ok there.

I headed further on to Walnut Canyon. When I arrived, I spoke with the Interpretive Center employees, who told me they expected the smoke would reach them by afternoon.  

Bummer.

Super Bummer.

I went ahead and scoped out camping for next trip.

As you drive toward the Interpretive Center, just before you arrive, you will cross a state road that goes in both directions.  You can turn left OR right and camp anywhere off that road.  I found many camp spots but they were full!  Probably people escaping the smoke!  The few that were left were impossible for my Toyota Sienna to access because of very deep ruts in the road. I would have bottomed out had I attempted access. However, if you have higher clearance, you'd probably be ok.  The camp spots ranged from forested to meadows and were quite pretty.  Here is a photo I took of one that I managed to get into. Unfortunately, there was a HUGE pile of trash left by previous campers; sofa parts, boxes, metal, bricks, just all sorts of things. But the meadow itself was very pretty due to the recent rains.

I will definitely be back to camp here!

The lady was right, by the way. When I drove back through 2 days later, this area was inundated with heavy smoke!  

GPS:   35.177753, -111.50106

Farewell Tillamook!

August 1, 2017

Once my van was finished, I headed back to Tillamook. 

Gary said there were over 100 folks there!

 But I missed a LOT of them, and on the day I arrived back, 

people were packing up to go.

After a couple of days, the place thinned out 

and only a few stragglers (like me) were left.

Sassy Pants!

Kenny

Bob 2

Karylee

We said goodbye to Christy, to Casey, 

and a few others today.

Christy and I in our warm "twinsy" hats

Saying Goodbye Yesterday

Where'd everyone go?

Once everyone left, the few of us who were still at Tillamook 

got busy and did odd jobs we had put off.  

I THOUGHT I would be heading up the Penninsula early this morning.

I woke up around 5:30 and planned to head to the YMCA for a shower.

I turned on the car and there was that ugly "check engine" light!

DAMN!

I wasn't sure what to do so I checked with Casey.

She had told me about a really good mechanic 

she had used here in Tillamook.

I called him and he told me to bring the car in.

He checked the car with his little doo-flotchy

and then opened the hood.

There, we found the mechanic at Hillsboro Toyota

had not connected the hose to the air filter.

Sheesh!

A $30 fix and hopefully it will be fine now.

Karylee got her new window and spent a day cleaning and fixing 

so Kenny could help her install it.

Mustang Sally ordered a brand new 200 watt solar panel. 

It only weighs 10 pounds and is pretty as a picture! 

Kenny spent the afternoon helping her install it. 

She wanted it hooked up before her trip back home to Florida.

Kenny is worth his weight in GOLD!

He's the best "honey-do" dude I've ever met, 

outside of Joe #2.

Karylee documents everything!  She's our historian, I think.

Sassy and I got our laundry done so we could head out tomorrow, 

with Sally, to do the Olympic Peninsula drive.  

We're hoping to meet up with Jerry and Nelda somewhere up the road. 

It should be a lot of fun!

Using my "washing machine."

I actually LOVE my cordless "washing machine" 

which looks just like a large plunger with holes and a grid bottom. 

It is an exact replica of one I saw up at the Route 66 museum, 

used by folks coming out West during the Dust Bowl.  

Works like a charm!

I finagled a clothesline on the back of the van door. 

With the sun and breeze, the clothes should be dry by nightfall.

Mustang Sally tried out Kenny's RAD MINI bike.

She loved it!

Well, that's it!

The Tillamook Meet Up is over.

It was a kick!

Just one more sleep

until my 66th Birthday!

Just one more sleep 

until a new adventure!

Life is good!

Love, 

Annie

Looking Back - The Way

Annie with Martin Sheen during filming of The Way

Looking back with fondness today at my 2012 Camino 

when Joe and I were hired as extras for the movie

The Way

with Martin Sheen and Emelio Estevez.

Joe was standing in line to get his Compostela

when an announcement was made

that a movie company was shooting a movie

and looking for extras.

They wanted pilgrims who had completed the Camino.

The weather was cold and windy

and we had a few days to spare,

so we showed up in the Cathedral Square 

next morning and signed up!

We were given a contract to sign

which promised to pay us €2, 

a paycheck we never received.

But what the heck!

It was a wonderful experience,

well-worth doing for free!

They did, in fact, feed us…

BOCADILLOS!

We were in the shot where the three peregrinos

are walking up to the Cathedral.

We were in a group of 3 pilgrims,

and the shot was filmed several times.

We were also in the shots inside the Cathedral

and got to see the Botafumeiro swing

up close!

We thought it was funny that Emelio Estevez 

was dressed up like one of the priests,

and didn't know why

until we rented the movie later.

In fact, we knew nothing about 

the story being told.

When we finally were able to rent the movie,

we were so excited!

We watched it, looking for ourselves at the end.

Wait!

WHAT?

Where WERE we?

We played it back again.

"Do you see us?"

"Nope!"

Hey!!!!

Then we played it frame by frame

and finally, 

I saw big old tall Joe.

But where was I?

Oh… there is my shoulder and my head,

behind you, Joe!

Oh well,

so much for a career in Hollywood.

We laughed at our silly excitement 

of being in a movie where we had to

stop each frame to see ourselves.

It was an otherwise incredible experience.

Martin Sheen was so gracious,

spending time with his fans 

to the point of his son,

who was directing the movie,

having to call him several times

to get him back to work.

He chatted with folks,

signed autographs, 

took photos with fans,

and was really a sweet guy.

Emelio was no less kind,

spending several minutes talking with Joe

in the Cathedral.

We really enjoyed the day!

In the end, 

The WAY made a pretty big impact 

on the Camino.

Numbers of pilgrims walking 

increased.

I asked many people the next year 

how they found out about the Camino,

and many responded,

"We saw THE WAY!"

So thanks, Mr. Sheen and Mr. Estevez, 

for the memories.

And for your kindness.

You rock!