GUESS WHAT. mesa verde was open this morning. so yes, let’s add another 1.5 hours of driving onto the already long 6.5 hours! i didn’t care. this has been a bucket list item for too long to not check it out while here.

during the summer, you can do an actual tour of the ruins. i checked out the “requirements” at the visitors center, and the ladder was sufficiently not rickety and the crawlspace just fit my junky trunk (literally scraping the edges) so that if we DO come back during the summer (a real possibility since there is some pretty awesome lodging near the top of the mesa), i could go on a tour.
i’m glad we actually took the time to check it out!
then we booked it across new mexico. new mexico has some interesting rock formations that pop up out of nowhere.

UGH look at my four chins. i swear i gained 20 lbs so far on this trip. blargh!
so we drove and drove, drove some more. we stopped to get some gas and snacks, but otherwise it was flatland city. but then we saw a sign for the petrified forest national park. at first we both said “next time”. but then i said i needed to use the bathroom. and nate was really excited about visiting, so we went. talk about adding more time to our drive! but we got to eat a navajo taco, ha! worth it?

the petrified forest includes the painted desert and the only national park that includes a portion of route 66.

there are NO remnants of route 66 – no concrete, asphalt, etc. was it removed? did it just get grown over? i’m going to have to find a documentary on it.
the petrified wood is really cool, and the whole area reminds me of the badlands, as you can see from the pics above. and it was actually a very south dakota-esque drive from there on out. we entered the tonto national forest after that; i smelled PINE TREES and it was glorious. it was almost exactly like driving through the hills except for taller hills. the towns we drove through were picturesque, and there were a couple campgrounds and lodges i would definitely stay at.

THEN we drove through the mountains as the sun was setting and it was sooo lovely! reminded me of when jane and i were driving back to LA from sequoia.

now nate and i are in our crazy huge hotel room in phoenix. tomorrow we fly out at 1:30 – we’re a short drive from the airport. and we’ll be flying back into snow. how exciting.
as an aside, nate and i went to 7 national parks/monuments and monument valley (glen canyon map is missing)!! totally worth the annual pass.