Day 19 -- Arizona and New Mexico

We all slept extremely well last night. Guess we were all worn out from all of the walking we did at the Grand Canyon. We woke up this morning, went to breakfast, loaded the car and headed out. We ran into the couple who we'd met on the train (the lady who'd also done the Phoenix half-marathon) and we exchanged email addresses. We headed towards Santa Fe - with a stop planned for the Meteor Crater landmark. We made it to the crater and went on the guided tour. We grabbed a sub from Subway (yuck) to eat in the car and headed back to the interstate. As we were driving along I-40 eastbound Don saw the sign for the Petrified Forest and decided to stop. We went into the visitor center for the stamp (all 4 of them) and did a quick loop of the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. Our raven friend was waiting for us at the entrance. Awesome!! He even posed for some more pictures!! The desert was pretty cool - the "forest" - not so much. It started POURING down rain in spots (desert?!) and we decided we'd been there long enough. So we headed back to I-40 east and on to Santa Fe. We are in New Mexico now and a little less than 2 hours from our hotel. We knew today would be a long drive but we also know we have an extra night in Santa Fe - so limited driving tomorrow. I can't believe we'll be home in a week. I'm so exhausted and ready to rest & relax. Unfortunately when I get home I get to unpack, repack and according to a call today - host a super bowl party Sunday. Luckily it's a small party and the only thing anyone asked me to fix was my chili & baked potatoes. Easy enough. For those of you in LA - SORRY! I TOLD you I was taking the beautiful weather back east with me. I know Elizabeth was enjoying the rain in LA - but not sure about the rest of you! For those of you in Virginia - I sent the weather on ahead of me! Hope you enjoyed the spring-like day!! New York - I heard you had a heat wave in the 40s today!! I promise I'm doing my best to bring 50s with me - if not 60s!!! :) Okay - off to find a place to eat some dinner. It's MEXICAN night!! YIPPEE!!!!!

Meteor Crater:






Petrified Forest: