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Beyond the Gates of the Petrified Forest: Route 66

entrance

Driving up to the South gates of Petrified Forest National Park brings you back to the hay-day of the Route 66 Phenomenon. Two tourist trap pit stops line each side of the street and offer a glimpse into the relics of the past.

We look left, look right, and realize there is nobody here! Maybe it’s the fact that the Petrified Forest is in the middle of nowhere in Arizona, or maybe it’s that people are losing interest in our National Parks….or maybe it’s just because it’s zero degrees Fahrenheit today?

dinosaurs of the petrified forest

gift shop

the tradition

Now, if the South entrance isn’t bringing on that warm fuzzy Route 66 Americana feeling…maybe the spectacles leading up to the North entrance will.  It’s a little creepy meets a whole lotta WTH!

petrified forest entrance

exit nowt-rex

high security

We sat out in our car for quite a while debating whether or not we should go in and if we did, would we make it out alive?  We eventually asked ourselves “what would Indy do”?  And that was that, we were going in!  We had to find out what was inside.  After a couple of good tugs on the door we were greeted from behind…by a toothless gruff looking woman sitting in what we thought was one of the abandoned cars.  She rolled down her window to kindly let us know they were out to lunch and would be back in 45.  While our curiosity was at its peek, we didn’t feel like hangin around here for another 45 minutes.  We didn’t want to push our luck and the willies were really starting to settle in.

The good news is we did make it to the petrified forest and it’s just as interesting as the drive in!

Famous for my "how-not-to" videos, and typically the man behind the camera, sometimes I’m forced to be here in the “spotlight”. When you see my face you’re probably reading something more technical than adventurous, but either way I do my best to tell it like it is and infuse my opinions into the commentary…after all this is a blog and not MSN.

Comments (7)

  • Dennis

    I remember this place when I was a kid and we use to take family trips to this park. Seeing you photos brings back great memories.
    Thanks for sharing them

    reply
  • Vickey

    0 degrees F, eh? No wonder the whole place looks frozen in time! Glad you didn’t become the new dino fast food.

    reply
    • Ha ha! If you can, go anytime after March to avoid becoming a dino popsicle!

      reply
  • Katie

    My family and I have been to Petrified Forest many times and we always enjoy ourselves there. I’m glad you had a chance to see it.

    reply
    • Beautiful place for sure, and the remnants of Route 66 are creepy cool.

      reply
  • Very strange place! a definite throwback to the 60’s. great pictures that reallly capture the atmosphere. spoooky!

    reply

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