I went grocery shopping this morning and as I was checking out the cashier commented on my Petrified Forest National Park t-shirt, because it had a Route 66 logo on it. I told her that I had just returned from California via the Mother Road and she said that she really wanted to drive that road sometime. The bagger chimed in saying that he also wanted to travel Route 66. I told them how dry it is in the west and how green Missouri looks by comparison, but their wanderlust must have made the grass out west look greener than here at home. Still, it was a great trip. It was great seeing my family and all of the sights that we saw along the way.

Pictured is a panorama of the Blue Mesa, which is a formation in the middle of the park, in a part where the geology is transitioning from the northern Painted Desert portion of the park to the southern Petrified Forest part. Blue Mesa featured both types of geology, painted desert and petrified forest, but if you ask me, it looks more purple than blue. The day that we visited was also a red flag day, because the wind was blowing so hard. There was one section of trail, up on top of the mesa that had steep drop-offs on both sides of the trail and I was afraid that we would get blown off the mesa.

As I said, our trip out to California and back was a great vacation, but let’s not dwell on the past too long. Too this end, Anne has prepared a spreadsheet to help organize this summer’s cabin vacation. The gathering of the clan will soon be underway. Our cabin will be at capacity this summer, with thirteen people there all at one time. It should be glorious.