If a tree falls in the dessert... A Visit to the Petrified Forest

After returning to our room from our super at a Denny's Truckstop at the edge of Winslow, Arizona, I turned down the covers to our bed. I asked my girl how she was feeling.

"Meh," she said.

I arranged her long hair, whispering to her, "I want to sleep with you in the dessert tonight, with a billion stars all around."

She picked up on my use of the lyrics from the Eagles' song, Peaceful Easy Feeling. She rolled into her pillow, telling me, "Take it easy, don't let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy."

I smiled and kissed her goodnight.

I'd tucked my ailing - but recovering, wife into bed, cooing:

    Well, we're a resting' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona,

Tomorra, we've got such fine sights to see,

It's phytosaur my Lord, in a bone-dry ford,

Restin' under a petrified tree.

Come on baby, don't say maybe

I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me.

We may lose and we may win

But we may never be here again,

So open up, I'm climbin' in.

Oooh, oooh ooh.

She was either already asleep, or she was willfully ignoring my off-key rendition of the Eagles, Takin' It Easy.

***

We rose from our hotel bed in Winslow, Arizona. This was Day 4, the Final (and longest) Leg of our hard-driving return to Texas. Susan was feeling OK, not great, but good enough to explore the dessert on a bright and cool January morning.

Our plans were to marvel at the specimens of 217 million year old fossil trees that grew in a great Jurassic swamp, fell into the swamp and were petrified by silica-rich waters derived from volcanic ash replacing their woody tissue. The mineral laden waters filtered through the soil and turned wood into jasper and agate with surreal colors from mineralization. 

Susan and I are a great match. We love reading the rocks and tripping out on geology!

Petrified log weathers out from 217 million year old [Jurassic] sediments

Petrified Forest National Park is bisected by I-40, so it was directly on our route back to Texas. I'd often been more interested in making miles than memories when I've driven through Arizona before, so I'd never deviated from my route to see the Petrified Forest. But this day, we had purposed to groove on the geology, even if it meant getting home to Texas at 3 AM. We stopped at the visitor's center at the south end of the park, getting the geologic story and seeing their displays of fascinating reptilian fossils (pre-dating the dinosaurs) found in the formations in the Park.

Susan inserts her head between the choppers of a Phytosaur

I love these armored early reptiles like this Aetosaur

We were both getting kind of excited by what we saw in the small museum, and were ready to get out to see the fossils in their natural habitat. Petrified Forest NP is primarily a 'drive-through' park, with a few stops and very short trails to walkabout the formations and the fossilized trees. Other stops included early human habitations in the area with stone structures and petroglyphs etched into the dessert varnish.

We strolled through the Crystal Forest, our first little walk.

Multi-hues jasper and agate minerals in an old log

Naturally disaggregated log segments left in a ravine
after they tree weathers out of the sediments and breaks

 Part of Petrified Forest NP includes the 'Painted Dessert', colorful formations, arroyos and rounded hills. I love to stand and absorb the geology of charming places like this. Science is so invigorating, it stirs the mind and soul.

A minimalist, sensually sculpted dessert terrain - something a geologist comes to love

We walk among the fallen trees, noting the different bark textures of the species that once grew in this swamp before continents and latitudes shifted, turning this into Arizona's Painted Dessert after millions of years.  

Rich colors of mineralized wood

Our park road brought us to a place below the cliff that has stone faces etched with mysterious petroglyphs. These protected bits of human artistry are believed to represent Indian clans and their territorial markings, or talismans and magic for favorable hunting expeditions or maybe just doodling for fun. The petroglyphs can be seen through telescopic viewers some distance from the rock face.

There is a site of an abandoned 100-room pueblo that also has some nearby glyphs carved onto the sandstone. The interpretive sign suggests some different possibilities for the meaning of these images. 

There is an image of a giant bird that seems to have a small person on the tip of its beak.

Giant bird snatches small person

One of the suggestions as to the meaning of this terrorizing bird is that it is a cautionary story spoken as a warning by mothers to misbehaving children; "If you don't settle down and behave, the giant bird will come to the village and snatch you away like all the other bad kids before you!" I think parenting has not really changed in the last 2,000 years.

Our journey had us cross north of I-40 and visit the portion of the park designated as the Painted Dessert.

We truly enjoyed our trip through the Petrified Forest. Susan was expecting just pieces of scattered petrified wood and was thrilled to have her expectations exceeded by huge, colorful logs of stone in full, abundant view across the dessert floor.

After leaving the Painted Dessert, we had plenty more miles of Arizona and New Mexico dessert to amaze us on our way to Garland, Texas. Darkness caught up to us about half way through New Mexico after our terrific afternoon in Arizona. 

My stomach remembered the best chicken fried steak I've ever been served at Del's Cafe in Tucumcari, NM. It was sunset and I opted to not skip a meal, but stop at Del's IF the place in this forlorn, dusty town of Tucumcari was still in business after the pandemic and all. To my great surprise, Del's was busy and booming on a Tuesday night. The hostess told me it'd be about a 30 minute wait. I knew this chicken fried steak was worth it, so I took her buzzer and we waited 10 minutes before our table was ready. The large, hand-breaded, expertly skillet-tossed CF steak met my expectations and memories. I told my wife, "It was nice to take you out for dinner in Tucumcari; now, how about I take you home and put you to bed?" I was filled and happy and ready for the road to Texas. Yet, we were only halfway home at this point, just another 7 hours to go.

I hit the automatic garage door opener attached to my visor, the door opened to welcome us home at 02:40 AM.

End Day 4: 923 Miles traveled.

Sunset Crater

Susan had spent a day at the Grand Canyon, a memorable first for her. Despite feeling under the weather, there presented itself an opportunity to check out Sunset Crater national Monument. "I'm never too sick to investigate a volcanic crater, lava flow or cinder cone," was my traveling companion's hearty endorsement of tacking on a second, unplanned visit to a geological wonder.

Our sunlight was fading fast, and we we not sure what to expect at Sunset Crater, but we were here and ready to investigate. We got a quick overview of the volcanic setting and timing of the event (about 1,000 years ago) and then parked to marvel at the grotesque forms of pumice and lava extruded about our little trail.

Susan cross a bridge into the lava field

Face-to-face with a once glowing glob of basalt - now cool. So cool!

Grotesque silhouette of Sunset Crater basalt  

A possible piece of wood encased in a lava flow?

It was getting too dark to do proper geology, but I did grab a few photos of the Sunset since i was at Sunset Crater.

It was a skip and a hop to our bed in Winslow, Arizona. Not much in the way of dining options, as it turned out. We got some grub at the Denny's behind the Chevron station at the end of town.

End of Day 3: Only 341 Miles traveled January 1.

Hard-Driving Days: Oregon to The Grand Canyon

It is daylight on December 31st, 2024 in Grants Pass, Oregon. 

It will be New Year's Eve - and most probably 2025 by the time I clamber out of the driver's seat in Kingman, Arizona at the end of this hard-driving day.

Susan is feeling punk. Tired, achy, very raw sore throat. She records our fuel purchase in my mileage log book in the morning before she collapses into an uneasy sleep in the passenger seat. She will sleep through most of California as we drive the long way down from Oregon to Bakersfield on I-5 before I swing east toward Arizona, our New Year's Eve's destination of rest and recovery. 

I had explained this will be a travel day filled with fascinating variety; but Susan is ill and unable to keep her heavy eyes open for hardly any of it. We leave from Southern Oregon, a moist land of towering Douglas firs, cross the snow dusted road cuts in the Cascades and end the day in a parched land of the Mojave Dessert dotted with spiney Joshua Trees.

Susan sleeps and misses the view as we cross the Cascades into California, skirting the snowy flanks of Mt. Shasta in Weed before we roll into the Sacramento Valley, slipping between the Sierra Mountains on our left and the Coastal Range rising on our right. Susan eyes are closed as we pass by Mt. Lassen in the distance and the Marysville Buttes and the highway exit to the town of my birth. 

On a crowded I-5 corridor at the exit for Davis, Susan sleeps as a wicked piece of highway debris is cast up by a truck and into my windshield, giving me a jagged fracture in the low center portion of my view, expanding like a spider web being woven across the glass by an invisible spider, toward the driver. It seems like I go through windshields like a empath goes through Kleenex on these Washington-to-Texas and Texas-back-to-Washington road trips. 

Beyond Sacramento and Stockton, the interstate traffic thins out as I accelerate down the ribbon of highway that hugs the inner edge of the blonde Coastal Range bordering my natal San Juaquin Valley. 

Our drive through California was to be arduous, and my driving philosophy is 'miles before sustenance'. I drive, I do not stop (except for fuel). These are short winter days and we are burning daylight if I terry at any roadside attraction or pause to satisfy one's oral fixations. I need gas, not food. And drinks just make you want to stop and pee. A waste of time. Susan is sick and has no appetite, in a strange way this makes for a complementary driver/passenger duo. I cut off I-5 and take a two-lane highway into Wasco to link with 99 into Bakersfield. I am ready to make an exception, I stop at McDonald's for an afternoon $6 Meal-Deal. I give my fries and a Sprite to my passenger, French fries are known to be medicinal for my ailing wife. She feels a little better as we turn eastward over the Tehachapi Mountains and drop into the Mojave Dessert just after sunset.

It is 9 PM outside of Barstow - that means the ball is dropping in Time Square, New York, New York. We think of son Grant and Kaileen in NY, wondering what they're up to? Knowing they despise the crowds in Time Square, we expect they found a good time with friends somewhere in Brooklyn maybe. It is quite dark in the middle of the Mojave on New Year's Eve, save the oncoming headlights of the truckers out on the divided road, Susan keeps asking me, "Are we in Arizona?"

I tell her "Not until we cross over the Colorado River. We have to go through Needles before we get to Arizona." I have strategically planned to have a minimal amounts of fueling stops in California, I hate paying California prices for gasoline. I will be on less than a 1/4 of a tank when we cross into Arizona, and I will fill up 8 miles past the California state line. I never know if AZ in on Pacific or Mountain Time. We reach Kingman, AZ (surprise! It's Mountain Time, so we lost an hour and we so happen to lose midnight on New Year's Eve. Oh well. Maybe next year?)

My Google map phone app tells me we've driven 947 miles from Grants Pass, OR to Kingman, AZ toady. My odometer says its only been only 863 miles in one day. Where have the time and miles gone? We check in at 1 AM local time, our reservations are confirmed. We go to our room after a long hard day of driving and find the bed unmade sporting a half drained bottle of Prosecco and some empty paper party cups waiting for us. Unacceptable. I am tired and not happy. We return to the front desk and we are offered an "ungrade"; a fresh, made up room with 2 queen beds. I tell her, "It's not an upgrade, I had a room with 1 king bed." 

Front Desk Agent grimaces at my correction. Susan tells her, "It's fine if our room was not ready, it's nice that you have another room for us."  I disagree, but I've said all I'm going to say. The second room is nice. We sleep.

End of Day 2: 863 Miles.

Adventure List Goal #1 Accomplished!

New Year's Day, 2025
South Rim of the Grand Canyon

From our bed in Kingman, it was a 2 1/2 hours drive to the Grand Canyon. Susan, with a Masters Degree in Geology, had never been to the geologist's mecca of the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon was at the top of her Adventure List on our trip back to Texas. Yet, she was not feeling well. The weather on the South Rim was brisk, but warming into the 40's (F). Over a relatively late (8:45 AM) hotel complimentary breakfast, the question was: How are you feeling this morning? 

If you're not up to spitting over the rim into the Grand Canyon, we could drive you straight home to Texas. What do you feel like accomplishing today? 

Her first response, "I won't spit into the Canyon. What is it with boys? Why must boys spit and pee on everything?" Her second thought, "I'd like to stick with the plan, I want to see the Grand Canyon. Let's go [cough, cough].

The New Year's Day crowds were thick. We were part of the first group to be counted toward the over 5 million visitor per year. We walked along the South Rim, taking in various views across the mile-deep canyon, trying to do justice to the scene with the constraints of a camera lens.

It was already midday and our tentative plan to visit a second Arizona National Park was scuttled when we realized after consulting with a ranger that Petrified Forest NP closes at sunset. We would run out of daylight this 1st day of January. So, our plans shifted to getting a hotel in Winslow tonight and visiting Petrified Forest NP tomorrow.

But, along our way (sort of) was Sunset Volcanic Crater National Monument in the San Francisco Mountains. I had never left the South Rim by going east to Cameron, so I was up for the new road and a new sight, Sunset Crater - if we could there before sunset.

We're off on our next adventure...

My Accountant's Year's End Advice - Belle Pente Pinot Noir

 Of life's chapters, their beginnings and endings can not always be succinctly defined by the symmetry of the calendar. Beginnings and endings can be messy, sloppy, ill-defined if not subtle. 

But sometimes, the calendar does align with new life chapters. With 2024 to be history in less than 48 hours, I locked the gate to The Pilchuck behind me on a dewy, fog-drenched late December morning and pointed my wheels southward. For the sake of symmetry; This end of the 2024 calendar year coincided with the end of my solidary existence on our 50 wooded acres, building a home and the foundations for a future life in Washington. Things were going to change for me in 2025. I had packed clothes, computer, some perishables from the fridge, my wife and my daughter comfortably in my SUV as I cruised into the next subtle phase of my life, swinging like a pendulum from the Pacific Northwest to back to Texas in my transient ways of the past several years.

I had furnished my Washington home and managed the property in a series of successive iterations, approximating the place's completeness for either retirement living for the wife and I  - or to have an acceptable property for short-term rental revenue. The future is opaque to me.

As my windshield wipers swept the dew's condensation from the glass, my immediate plan was to follow through on my promise to my wife: A) If she flew up to Seattle to spend Christmas with me, B) I would then put together an overland adventure to return her to her job in Texas, including some worthy sights and experiences along the way. It was convenient to pack our daughter, Inga, along with us to bring her back to Portland after she came north via train after Christmas for a Holiday in Victoria, BC with her parents.

We left early on December 30th, made great time down I-5 and we were crossing the mighty Columbia River on the outskirts of Portland after a titch more than 3 hours of driving. It was a bit early for lunch time along funky Alberta Street in Inga's neighborhood, but some of the shops were serving, and so she marched us to Petite Provence. It was mojito French toast and a mocha for me. After lunch, we hugged her goodbye and I set the GPS coordinates for our first road trip adventure.

Now, there is many a thing to do between Arlington, Washington and Garland, Texas. The trick is to be judicious with one's desires, expectations and time. The list of 'Things to do, Places to see' was long; many we'd done and enjoyed before. Our 'Adventure List' was culled, though time in Mendocino is always treasured - it's been done. Time is limited, so we picked things that Susan had not done before.

Our Adventure List included: A) A winery tour, B) The Grand Canyon, C) Petrified Forest National Park. And lots of hard driving.

My first thought was to stay over in Mendocino and then spend a day in the nearby Wine Country of Mendocino, Sonoma and Napa Counties. Travel time dictated that we not stop in the charming sea cliff village of Mendocino, and thus we'd scratch a wine tasting from our list.

But wait! There are some fine wines being made just outside of Portland in the Willamette Valley. But which winery (there are about 700) and where should be our single worthwhile stop? Though it was the thick of Christmas Day, I texted my accountant, Mark Rice back in Dallas. I asked him for his professional advice for a winery in Oregon's Willamette Valley. He got right back to me, "Call and ask for a private tasting at the small, but well crafted vintages of Belle Pente outside Charlton, Oregon. I did as he suggested.

Susan and I had a 2:30 tasting appointment with the owner and winemaker of Belle Pente.

Susan enjoying a taste of Belle Pente Pinot Noir

  We got an good introductory lesson on the grapes, the geological soil types and climate that combine to make this area of the Willamette Valley a prime producer. We good some background stories and a taste of Chardonnay, several levels of Pinot Noir and a Pinot Gris. 

We focus on the geologic map of the Willamette Valley.
Anybody displaying a geologic map is good people and can be trusted.

I got carried away and had Brian tally up a dozen bottles of wine to make the trip back to Texas. I am looking forward to sharing them with my accounted as he balances the books of Sunstone Exploration, Inc.

We coasted down the winery's dirt farm road and wove through the twilight filtering through the orchards and fields of the valley floor as we reconnected with I-5 in Salem. 

 We had a bed waiting for us in Grants Pass. We were not too hungry and Susan was feeling the onset of a cold. We grabbed a hot tea and an appetized plate at a China Garden and called it a day.

Day 1: Arlington, WA to Grants Pass, OR. 538 Miles - This was an easy, low-mileage day. 

 

 

Planes, Trains, Ferry Boats & Holiday Lights to Victoria, BC

Holiday Day 1 

Victoria, British Columbia
Christmas Holiday with the Suneson Ladies

I insisted that Susan take an extended Christmas Break from her job at church once the annual Christmas program was finished and catch a plane to meet me in Seattle. I promised her that if she did, she'd get a nice Christmas present - a holiday trip to Victoria, BC.

I invited our daughter Inga to bring her boyfriend Sean up to join us on our trip to Victoria. We were disappointed that Sean's work schedule did not work for this trip, but Inga was game to come along if we postponed the Christmas travels until the day after Christmas. We worked it out and she bough a train ticket on the Amtrak Cascade Route, leaving Portland and arriving in Stanwood on December 26th.

We three were up early on the 27th for our international adventure in my 4Runner SUV. Sue having arrive by plane, Inga by train and in less than an hour we were boarding the first of our two ferry boat rides in Edmonds to sail to the shores of Kingston on Washington's Olympic peninsula. 

Washington State Ferry passes our ferry on the Edmonds-Kingston run

In about an hour we were parked in Port Angeles, ready to walk-on to the Coho Ferry and cross international waters into Victoria's inner harbour. I'd expected that two days after Christmas, the holiday crowds would be less - my expectations were dashed as the Coho was packed with over 300 walk-on passengers with the same idea that I had.

This post-Christmas, Christmas Holiday plan was to not have much of a plan. As some will point out to me, "Mark, you are not really a planner." I did have ferry passage booked along with two suites for two nights in the Royal Scot Hotel. Other than getting there and checking into our rooms - we were footloose in a fun and walkable city with quite the 'European feel'. 

Suneson Holiday Travelers waiting to debark the Coho and pass through Canadian customs.

We had a 1 1/2 block march from the Ferry Terminal to our hotel after a 90 minute crossing of the Juan de Fuca Strait. After settling into our rooms for a brief freshening, we were ready to walkabout and look for adventure in Victoria. We were half a block from British Columbia's Parliament Building, which was decorated and lined with holiday lights. We stopped to enjoy the sight and grab a whole lot of photos.

Grounds of BC Parliament Building

Parliament Building decked out for Christmas

Fountain lit in Christmas colours featuring British Columbia's Coats of Arms

We strolled past the Parliament offices and headed down Government Street where we expected to find a place for tonight's dining experiences, but first we passed by many shops, noting opportunities for tomorrow's meals and gift purchases. Cattycorner to Parliament is the Empress Hotel, bring fond memories for Susan and me as the place where we honeymooned back in March, 1986.

Roger's English Chocolates & Bon Bons on Government Street

Checking out the candy shoppe.

Tapas restaurant in Trounce Alley for supper

 The first few restaurants where we inquired about a table, told us that they were booked full for the night. So we moseyed on to a quaint tapas place tucked into Trounce Alley. We got a table outside in the alley that was amply heated by overhead gas-fired jets. We drank cocktails and toasted ourselves for a successful Canadian first few hours. 

We took our time to saunter around downtown Victoria, running into a small, brightly lit Christmas carnival next to City Hall. 

Christmas Carnival Forest of Lights

We were off to a great start. It was decided that we return to the Royal Scot and continue looking for random adventure in the morning. We'd already spied a likely spot for tea and scones once daylight returned. But first, the fudge shoppe was still open and besides - it's Christmas after all, no harm in getting us some sweets. Right?

mother and daughter enjoy some sweet moments in the Fudge Shoppe

We walk past the boats moored in the harbour across from the Empress Hotel and cut across the grounds of Parliament on our way back to our hotel for the night.

Boats moored in Victoria's inner harbour

My bride back in front of the Empress Hotel

Stewart welcomes us to our Royal Scot Hotel

 Holiday Day 2

We did not find ourselves in a tearing hurry to bound out of bed. But we did agree to rise and meet before we headed toward Bubbly Rose for breakfast and pastries, a spot that we'd noted in our amblings the night before. 

Breakfast at Bubbly Rose Bakery & Cafe

We would end up walking by someone's estimation, about 6 miles in this, our one full day in Victoria. There were no Christmas Markets to be found, contrary to my pre-trip readings form the Victoria Visitor's Bureau. But we enjoyed the sights of the town as much as we could take in on foot.

We poked our way into the quite narrow, easy-to-miss, Fan Tan Alley, in the heart of Victoria's China town.

Ducking into Fan Tan Alley, Chinatown

Interesting hidden places inside Fan Tan Alley

We skipped beyond Chinatown and headed toward a bridge that spanned a part of Victoria's Harbour. Again, it was just fun day to take in the sights of the city.

Pickle Boats - Victoria's Water Taxis

Our small foot-touring group of three circled back along the waterfront, stopping by the Empress Hotel to take advantage of the mistletoe hanging under an arch. We asked our daughter to take a photo of her old parents smooching. She obliged without commenting on the awkwardness of the situation. We reminded her that we'd honeymooned at this very spot and that she is lucky to be here (on so many levels), eh?

We walk along Victoria's waterfront

Empress Hotel Honeymooners 38 years, 8 months & 29 days hence.

We found a competitive Gingerbread Sculptures displayed in the lobby of the Hotel Grand Pacific, displayed as a fund raised for Habitat For Humanity. We dropped in to look at the creations, mother and daughter considered doing something similar with their culinary skills some time in Christmas Future. The  theme was 'Through A Child's Eye' and entries encompassed everything from gingerbread aliens, to gifts under gingerbread Christmas trees to intricated historic houses with miniature figures seen through the windows.

Gingerbread aliens visit for Christmas

Classic gingerbread house 

Wandering on, we came to Fisherman's Wharf, an enclave of colorful houseboats with a harbor seal bobbing cutely in their front yard. 

Pickle Boat water taxi 

An array of colorful houseboats

We took a mid-day break back in our hotel rooms and talked about the rest of the day. It was an enthusiastic unanimous vote to head back to the Empress Hotel and order some s'mores toasted over the veranda brassieres. 

At the veranda for s'mores

At the Empress for mid-day dessert treat

Ah... but once we got the menu, for a few dollars more (I'm talking dollars Canadian and the $US has a most favorable exchange rate) we could get a deluxe chocolate fondue. As we sat by the open flames with a view of the Inner Harbour, our madeleines, handcrafted marsh mellows, tropical fruits and biscuits were delivered. We dipped into the dark and rich gooey goodness and once again indulged in self-congratulatory chatter on our fine choices and good fortune.

The ladies ordered tea, I opted for a Canadian Old Fashion to polish off the sweetness of my tastebuds. 

Testing the toasting effectiveness of the flames before our fondue arrives.

Ah... Ummm... Ohhh...

It all disappeared too quickly.

A wonderful experience at the Empress once again.

We settled on a restaurant further up Government Street for our supper after we had dessert first. Only, the online menu at our supper place did not come close to matching what was being served that night. We stayed despite not having any crab or oysters available for me, yet we managed to enjoy our meal.








Holiday Day 3

We packed and had breakfast in the hotel and were walking back to the Black Ball Ferry Terminal at 9:15 to catch our 10 AM boat back to Port Angels, USA. The passenger manifest was slammed by another 300 foot passengers going the same way we were. Our reservations were honored without a problem and US Immigration and Customs waved us through with only one or two questions.

Back at The Pilchuck, it was time to scramble to close the house down for the long term and pack for a road trip return to Texas early in the morrow. We're looking at New Years 2025 somewhere on the road.

More later...