4-23-09 Thursday (Getting Stoned on Wood)

Jim's Mom is staying at a Hampton Inn. They offer a breakfast bar. When Jim and I stopped by to pick her up, we ate breakfast first. Ann had offered to pay the hotel for our breakfast but they said it was perfectly fine. Nice staff there. I was pretty impressed with the offering. Danish, bagel, english muffin, toast, sausage, egg, juices, oatmeal, cereals, etc. I made a sausage, egg, bagel. I was bummed there was no cheese but maybe tomorrow I'll bring my own. Damn I love food.

Above: We waited for our limo.

We had to pass through Winslow Arizona on the way to the Petrified Forest. Eagle's song excerpt: Well, I'm a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin down to take a look at me....

We knew today was going to be a long day trip so we paid the RV park to walk Dasher. $15 per walk but we didn't have much of a choice. We had them walk him once. We enjoyed the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert very much! Very pretty.

I did learn that almost every state has petrified trees. In different states, they are different wood species. Arizona has the most in the world and therefore gains the most attention. Petrified wood is a type of fossil: it consists of fossil wood where all the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen. Mineral-rich water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant's cells and as the plant's lignin and cellulose decay away, a stone mould forms in its place.

Then on to lunch......

Yes, I AM the Burger King once again. Unfortunately we all hated our food and should have waited for McDonald's or such. We were short on time.

Then to Meteor Crater... The crater owners proclaim it to be "the first proven, best-preserved meteorite crater on earth." Ummmm, it was a big hole in the ground. A while they did provide a 20 minute movie and interactive museum, I didn't think it was worth the $15.00. It's not a government owned park.