Day 48

Dave and I got up early to get things started for an early exit. We wanted to make sure to get Dave to the airport well before his flight. We had an easy no-cook breakfast ready for the car for all of us and I was driving us away by 7:15. Not bad!

The drive out of the park was beautiful and before we knew it we were in the desert of Arizona. We made a quick stop at Cliff Dwellings again. We'd stopped here 8 years ago but Brayden was the only one who remembered. Dave researched on our drive and told us these rock houses were built during the Depression by a couple and ended up being a popular stop. It became a restaurant and place for gas for those traveling through the area.





We made it to the airport just on time so Dave was happy to not have to stress about making his flight. He later text me to let me know there were only two gates and little food options so he was pretty bored!

Our next stop was the Petrified Forest National Park. There were signs and we were reminded at the entrance station to leave all things found at the park, especially rocks and trees. I'm not sure who would think to pick up one of the 800-pound trees but maybe?

We learned how the trees turned into beautiful petrified rocks. It was neat to feel the difference  between regular wood and the same size petrified wood.

We learned this park has a wealth of fossils as well. The kids tried their hand at finding and cleaning fossils too. They weren't nearly as careful and particular as the archaeologists but they had fun!

We watched the park movie and learned a bunch from all the exhibits. I had planned to hike a couple trails but it was incredibly hot so we stopped by the gift store and got back on the road. I will be stopping back by here another day when it's cooler and with Dave to really enjoy the entire park! I also saw all kinds of signs for Route 66 that ran parallel to the interstate. If we hadn't had such a long drive I would have liked to visit some of the Route 66 stops along the way.

We drove another few hours and arrived to Bluewater State Park just in time for a visit to the lake before dinner. The kids were a little nervous about the algae in the water so they decided to hang out on the beach.

By the time we finished dinner and cleaned up it was time to get ready for bed.  We were getting up early yet again because we had a birthday to celebrate the next day!