States covered: New Mexico, Arizona
Song of the day: “Ready for the floor” by Hot Chip
“Don’t stop me now” play count: 11
Sunday morning we woke up bright and early and left Shelly and John and beautiful Santa Fe. At 7am the moon was still out while the sun was rising which meant we could see one on either side of us as we drove through the mountains and plains into Albuquerque and on into Arizona.
As we got closer to the border we found ourselves surrounded by those red craggy rocks that are so characteristic of the Grand Canyon State. We passed the Continental Divide somewhere along the road, which neither of us really knows anything about—but we’re assuming it’s got something to do with continents and plate tectonics and topography. And probably explains why it was so flat to the left of the road and so mountainous and craggy to the right. I like the word craggy.
On the way we took a scenic detour into the Petrified Forest National Park. Turns out it’s not a forest at all, but actually a desert with “petrified” logs and various geological marvels. From the pamphlet we learned this wood is not the victim of a Basilisk’s stare nor is it the effect of petrificus totalus (if you don’t get it, it’s time to read some Harry Potter)…rather petrified wood is wood that has crystallized over time because it’s been submerged in water, minerals, and volcanic ash and sediment for centuries. For your reading pleasure here’s the pamphlet’s own words on the subject:
“[The trees of the area] fell, and swollen streams washed them into adjacent floodplains. A mix of silt, mud, and volcanic ash buried the logs. This sediment cut off oxygen and slowed the logs’ decay. Silicia0laden groundwater seeped through the logs and replaced the original wood tissues with silica depots. Eventually the silica crystallized into quartz and the logs were preserved as petrified wood.”
I really hope you didn’t just read that. The park itself was crazy though because it actually looked like we were driving on the moon.
Not to be forgotten is the World's Largest Petrified Tree in Geronimo, Arizona. Just to add to our "World's Largest" list:
After the park we drove the rest of the way to Phoenix where we met up with Winston, who is doing Teach for America there. He is living with other TFA kids, seems to be really busy but happy and doing really well. TFA certainly doesn’t sound like a walk in the park—they all had lessons to plan and stories of 3 hours of sleep at night for 5 weeks in a row.
We saw a bit of Phoenix itself: went swimming at Winston’s pool, got coffee, drove through the down town, had dinner in Scottsdale, and then hung out with TFA people for a friend’s birthday.
Phoenix has some great spots here and there—nice coffee shops and this really cool system of misting water at all the outdoor restaurants to keep you cool in the 100+ degree weather—but neither of us is quite sure what makes Phoenix Phoenix. It’s definitely spread out and seems to lack a concrete downtown. Also there’s a sense that you really have to work hard to find the cool spots and that in between you’re driving everywhere. Of course, the mountains surrounding the city do offer something unique.
After birthday cake it was early to bed for everyone so that the teachers could all prep for their lessons the next day at their various schools around Phoenix, and so that we could wake up early and head to the Grand Canyon!
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