Fall of 2018 we were volunteers at Petrified Forest National Park.  While we had visited the park the year before (see Petrified Forest blog post), now we were there for three months which allowed us to get to know the park much more thoroughly.

While at the Painted Desert Inn, we got to know “Grandma” Lucille Smith, a Navajo weaver and demonstrator for the park.

And the Painted Desert was spectacular.

For a few days, we had a Juvenile Coopers Hawk hanging around the Volunteer Village.

I also discovered that one of the other volunteers is a distant cousin who is also interested in genealogy research!

Petrified Forest National Park has been designated an International Dark Sky Park.

A hike out to Martha’s Butte was great fun!  This site has a variety of ancient Petroglyphs.   Most people are not aware that the vast majority of the land at Petrified Forest N.P. is available for hiking.

After three interesting months at Petrified Forest, we have had three relatively quiet months at Desert Gardens RV Resort near Cactus Forest, AZ (south of Phoenix).  Quiet, that is, if you don’t count my heart catheterization and and stent, and Judith’s prolonged bout with bronchitis.  But now, we’re on our way to Texas, Florida, and Pocosin Lakes NWR near Columbia, NC.

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