I slept in a Wigwam! And was overwhelmed by the Painted Desert.

 The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ, that is. A survivor from the glory days of Route 66, we made the trip to celebrate this centennial year and also my 69th birthday -- entering my 7th decade (what is that supposed to feel like?). And because, as a kid, every time we drove into Holbrook to visit relatives, I would beg to stay there. It's only taken me 60 years, but I made that childhood dream come true! 

Yeah, ok, it's a concrete replica of a tipi, not a real wigwam (or tipi, for that matter), but it appeals to the child's imagination. Would I stay there again? Probably not, but only because they, as with most Route 66 roadside motels, are designed for a quick overnight stay. We were there two nights, and the lack of a closet and dresser was noticeable -- as well as the modern amenities of coffee maker, microwave, and mini-fridge. They have installed space heaters and air conditioners, so you can adjust to your preference. The furniture is of the period -- a small Formica topped table and night stand, a small bathroom with functional toilet, sink, and shower, all designed for the smaller silhouettes of the 1960s. The flat screen t.v. is laughably tiny -- around 20 inches? Why it's attached to the wall and not sitting on a small three-drawer dresser is something we don't understand. 

 But it was FUN! Sleeping in a round room that tapered toward the top (there is a ceiling that cuts it off at about 8 feet) and reminded me of Jeannie's bottle in I Dream of Jeannie (doo doot - doot doot di doo doot). It was nostalgic, small bathroom and all. It was worth it. Oh, and it is dog friendly. The numerous vintage vehicles add to the nostalgia factor, but they could do with getting rid of about half of them. There's a great gift shop at registration -- open only 3:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. It's directly across from a Safeway and next door to the Butterfield Stage Co. Steakhouse (well, there's a Dollar General in between -- but, hey, there's a Dollar General right next door!). 

My DH bought me a set of Wigwam salt & pepper shakers for my birthday. Aren't they adorable?

And don't they make a perfect little retro vignette? 

On our way in, we stopped at the Painted Desert -- the part of the Petrified Forest that is north of I-40. Actually, the entire Petrified Forest is within the 7500 square miles of the Painted Desert, with most of the logs found in the portion south of I-40. North of the freeway are the staggering vistas of the Painted Desert. Neither words nor photographs can convey how utterly overwhelming and humbling the views are. Endless vistas of reds and pinks and purples and greys and blues, with snow-capped mountain peaks in the far distance (more than 100 miles away). It really puts everything into perspective -- how small and transitory humans and their creations are. And how transitory the earth is. The buttes and mesas and tipis with their layers and bands of color were formed -- are being formed -- by erosion and one day they'll have worn away and been replaced with ... who knows what? 

All photos taken from the NPS Petrified Forest website

The Painted Desert Inn is one of those human creations that is worth visiting, as well. Now a museum and gift shop, it was built as a private enterprise in the 1920s, the government bought it in the 1930s and set the CCC to rebuilding it in Pueblo Revival Style. 

Skylights in Trading Post Room

Then, in the late 1940s, the Fred Harvey Company bought it added furniture by Mary Colter and murals by Hopi artist Frank Kabotie. You can read more about the history and see more photos at the link above.

Lunch Room Booths

Kabotie Buffalo Dancers 

We entered the Petrified Forest from the south on the second day. There are two vintage kitschy gift shops/trading posts just outside the park, which we'll hit the next time we visit. This time, we were in search of the real thing, and we found it. Hundreds of thousands of logs, chunks, blocks, fragments of fossilized tree trunks in all of the colors of the Painted Desert, lying there for tens of millions of years.

Petrified Logs at Blue Mesa

Treme was in her element! Sniffing and tracking and jumping up on the short brick walls, looking for whatever it was that was making those entrancing smells! And marking it as hers -- all hers!

We'll be back next year, after Mike's second knee replacement, so that we can walk the longer trails. The plan is to stay at La Posada in Winslow ... it will be research for a future novel, of course.