TotSW: Hot windy transfer day across AZ

Heading east from Flagstaff along I-40, one gradually drops from around 7000 feet of elevation to less than 2000 feet, with a corresponding increase in air temperature.  Given that this was late June, it was up around 100 degrees for much of the day, so we opted for multiple short stops to look at interesting geographical features as we worked our way towards the New Mexico border rather than doing one larger hike.

First stop: Meteor Crater.  Ooooh, a non-volcanic crater!  This was a good stop, and we all enjoyed the museum, which has added quite a bit to its exhibits than the last time I was here years ago.

I noted that while this impact crater is very similar in size laterally to the volcanic Hole-in-the-Ground crater we saw a few years back in OR, it is much deeper.  We also had a convenient vantage point from which to take a panoramic photo.

Chad admired the Apollo test capsule in the front courtyard.  And yes, the mountain you can see through the window in the wall is Humphreys Peak, back by Flagstaff.

We admired the old-timey rock shops on the way over to Petrified Forest National Park.  It might be that we have a soft spot for dinosaurs.  Even fake ones.

We made several short stops as we drove across Petrified Forest.  First off was a stop to wander through the landscape of giant petrified logs.

The chollas were blooming.

At the visitor center, we learned that several types of ancestral proto-crocodiles used to inhabit the area.  Not quite dinosaurs, but they might as well be!  (Plus I just like the name aetosaur, when applied to a toothy fossil.)

Back outside, the mineralized logs could be quite colorful.

We had dinosaurs on the brain, so of course saw a face in this piece of log.

Some of the remnant fossilized logs were quite large.  This one was shored up at some point so that the bridge wouldn't fall in.

In addition to the rocks, there was some human history to explore, including petroglyphs

and pueblo remains.

We took advantage of the shade structures the park service built whenever we could.  They did a fine job fitting these in with the surroundings, and the thick stone walls made it cooler inside.

Chad, in tourist mode.

For all that the landscape could be considered quite stark, there actually was quite a bit of color, especially as one headed out towards the Painted Desert.  If it weren't so hot, we might have taken a longer hike here; as it was, we had a late lunch in the lodge and continued on to our New Mexico campsite for the night.