Petrified Forest National Park

So here I sit in Southern California in the snow. Yes, that's right, I "wrote" snow. We just can't seem to hid from winter. We've had our share of warm sunny days over the last month so I shouldn't complain but really, enough is enough. I giggle when we turn on the news and hear nothing but talk of "the big storm". That means it's been raining for 4 days straight now. I know places are flooding from this but I come from Oregon. It rains/snows/sleets/hails/slushes and shines the sun daily. And I mean all of that in one day. I joke that it's sometimes exhausting watching the weather.
The point of all this babble is that because I can't go outside I've found time and ran out of excuses not to update our blog. I love blogging but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed when I look back and realize the last time I truly did was when we were stuck in "the big storm" of Durango, Colorado back in early December.
So we've made it to California. It's been a fun journey along the way.
We escaped Colorado and spent a day in northern Arizona in Petrified Forest National Park. The place is littered with petrified logs. Not tiny bits of pieces here and there, actual LOGS. It's amazing!
To my surprise we've stumbles upon many archeological sites in the southwest. I wasn't aware on the amount of Native American history here. We've seen cliff dwelling after cliff dwelling. Found pottery on the ground and irrigation ditches built to water the crops. Petrified Forest was another happy history lesson. Over 650 sites have been found within the park. Old Route 66 also passes through. It was fun to cross paths again with the old road as we spent some time on it while in Flagstaff.
After a hike filled day we continued to head south. Again, we hit snow. Are you surprised by this yet? Feet and feet of white powder sat along the side of the road. Snowmen built by Phoenix city folk waved at us as we drove by. I am still shocked at how far south the snow really flies. I had no idea Arizona even got snow. I've learned now and I'll never doubt Old Man Winter again.
Our plan was to spend the night in Payson, AZ, and hour north of Phoenix. We arrived late in the afternoon and played in the sun for a bit. As soon as the sun set, I was reminded that yes, it was December. It was so cold out that we decided we had enough and drove late into the night south to Phoenix. From here we would drive east to Quartzsite, AZ. We spent an entire month there. I will continue on tomorrow with stories from our winer in the sun, finally.
Right now it's time for dinner. And being at families house, I get to cook it on a real stove, eat it on real dinnerware with the heater on while the snow flies outside.