Route 66 Road Trip Day Two: A Beautiful Journey To New Mexico Via Petrified Forest National Park

Our drive from Arizona to New Mexico was fairly uneventful but our stop at Petrified Forest National Park was a wonderful break and a highlight of the entire road trip.

In what would quickly become a trend, we did not get an early start…I worked all morning, we had a late breakfast and did not get on the road until 1:00 pm.

But it was a nice morning. The kids went swimming again and then enjoyed a great breakfast at the Andaz Scottsdale, one of my last as a Globalist. Great food and my pastrami skillet had a nice kick to it.

Breakfast for four was over $137, but fully wiped from the bill…I do appreciate how Hyatt cares for its Globalist members.

While the kids swam some more, I worked out…and sat in the steam room as well.

Yes, our delayed departure would mean a late arrival, but it was nice to enjoy a productive morning of work and exercise.

But as the clock struck one in the afternoon, we pulled out of the hotel and took AZ-80 North and AZ-260 East to get to the Petrified Forest National Park.

The initial drive was quite varied as we went from the barren desert to the thick pine forests of Tonto and Sitgreaves national forests.

We got back on “Route 66” in Holbrook and there I made the decision to go directly to the Petrified Forest National Park, bbecauseit was approaching 4:00 pm, rather than stop for gas in Holbrook (which would have required a 10-minute diversion).

This was not a car I was used to and my heart skipped a beat when the “refueling” light went on as I dove down the desolate road to the park entrance.

In fact, I even thought about turning around immediately to fill up in Holbrook, but then figured we’d go see the park and hopefully make it back if necessary. Upon our arrival, the park ranger told me that there was filling station on the opposite end of the park, 28 miles away.

I breathed a sigh of relief…we’d make it.

Ok, Petrified Forest National Park is just amazing.

First, I appreciated the kid-friendly museum. My kids had a great time hunting for “fossils.”

We spent the next 90 minutes walking around until we were told it was time to go…the park gates shut at 5:00 pm and people were asked to return to their cars by 5:30 pm.

We stopped at the Crystal Forest trail on the way out to catch the remainder of the post-sunset light…what a beautiful afternoon.

We drove out of the park and there was not much to see after the sunset, but I did find the filling station and was pleasantly surprised that it was cheaper here for gas than anywhere else nearby until we reached New Mexico.

By this time, we were hungry but we drove to Gallup, New Mexico where Heidi found a great Medeteriean place called Oasis on Yelp.

Middle Eastern food again? Yes, after the poor meal the previous night, we were hungry for some delicious Middle Eastern food, and we found it.

A very kind woman named Salwa Sarameh runs the restaurant and bestowed such kind hospitality on us. Looking around the restaurant, it looked like she had taken over an old diner that served American food.

And the food was so delicious! My lamb kabob was succulent and the knafeh with Turkish coffee for dessert really hit the spot (and helped to keep me awake for the remainder of our drive).

Refueled, we got back into the car and continued our drive to Santa Ana Publeo, just past Albeuqaure.

We arrived after 11:00 pm (Heidi and the kids had fallen asleep in the car) but I quickly checked in and got everyone up to our suite.

What a sweet day.

Tomorrow: a rest day with no travel.

This trip report covers my road trip along the old Route 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago.