Petrified Forest/Holbrook
The next stop on our journey found us entering Arizona, staying in the city of Holbrook and hiking thru the Petrified Forest. Admittedly, Holbrook was not our favorite place – it is sparse and lacking in amenities. That isn’t to say we didn’t meet some nice folks during our 1 week stay, but I can honestly say I would not choose to return.
The upside? Holbrook is just outside the Petrified Forest NP, which is both unassuming and spectacular for those who take the time to hike off the beaten path. There is an immense amount of history on the plains of Arizona, and the Petrified Forest highlights a small portion of what the native people (who still reside here!) have known for centuries. This park is also the only national park to contain parts of the historic Route 66, offering a glimpse into old western Americana.
Driving up to the park felt as though we would be quite disappointed – the plains along historic Route 66 seem barren and featureless. Even in reading about the Petrified Forest and the stone log fragments scattered over a remote section of Arizona, the area just didn’t sound very appealing. Yet upon entering the park, the Earth seems as if it was opened and you are viewing a cross-section of the Earth’s crust! The red, yellow and purple badlands and buttes span over a hundred miles, and the park has conveniently maintained several trails that were extremely accessible for the kids. Huge pieces of ancient trees seem to twist and bend in unusual ways. The petrified logs are strange and beautiful, containing the most unexpectedly bright colors – colors which are amplified when surrounded by the barren landscape.
Scientists believe that the petrified trees found within the park date back 211 to 218 million years, which is a difficult number to try and explain to your 4 yr old. To be honest, it’s a difficult number for me to comprehend when touching a piece of quartz that once used to be wood.
The petroglyphs and ruined village of Puerco Pueblo offer an interesting narrative for native people who inhabited this area starting more than 8,000 years ago. In fact, there are over 600 archaeological sites throughout the park! The village of Puerco Pueblo was believed to be a thriving hot spot with as many as 200 people living there, and the petroglyphs show many of the hunting and farming activities of the Puebloan people who lived along the Puerco River. One of the petroglyphs discovered marks the summer equinox. For two weeks around the equinox, the light and shadows change on the petroglyph as the sun rises and moves across the sky. Amazingly, a shaft of light forms, moving down the side of the adjacent boulder until it touches the center of the spiral petroglyph within a few minutes of 9am.
The park is surrounded by Navajo and Apache Reservations – for us a fascinating drive thru land populated with people whose ancient relatives created the petroglyphs found throughout the park. These reservations are the largest land area populated by an indigenous tribe in the US – to put that in comparison, it is a larger land mass than 10 US states! It was odd to drive thru an area populated with only one race of people given the diverse cities our family is accustom to. It was certainly a stark contrast to Holbrook, which is mostly Caucasian.
Speaking of Holbrook, I will say there are a few sections that we enjoyed as a family. Joe and Aggie’s Café is a true gem, serving up some history and delicious Southwestern food along Route 66. We had the opportunity to speak with Steven, one of the grandchildren of Joe and Aggie, who helps to run the restaurant today. The front of the shop displays souvenirs of Route 66 – the “Mother Road” - and the old-fashioned diner gives visitors a taste of life along western roads when Route 66 was the best way to travel across country. Joe and Aggie’s is the oldest restaurant in Holbrook (dating back to 1946), and the family is proud to be a third-generation business that continues to thrive given the lack of modern day tourism in the area. In fact, Joe himself was the inspiration for the character Stanley in Pixar's "Cars” - something the family will gladly discuss and show memorabilia from!
Across the street is the famous “Sleep in a Wigwam” motel, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. It is a striking slice of Western Americana and is the most prominent landmark in Holdbrook; perhaps one of the most memorable landmarks along Route 66. The motel was first opened in 1950 and successfully operated until the late 1970’s when I-40 bypassed downtown Holbrook. The motel reopened in 1988, when the front office was converted to a museum which is still open to the public. If you have seen the movie “Cars,” this should certainly look familiar!
All in all, I am glad we came to this area. The Petrified Forest was so much more than I could have imagined, and the history of Holbrook has been an interesting addition to our adventure. If you are in this part of Arizona, it is worth a drive thru.
