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| Painted Desert in Arizona / Paul Fundenburg CC BY 2.0 |
The Painted Desert and Petrified National Forest
My first vacation memory of traveling in Arizona was on
Interstate 40 in the Painted Desert at
sunrise. Few places are as beautiful as the Painted
Desert. The colors of the landscape are amazing with
every shade of red in the rocks to the wildflowers of the land.
Walking through the Painted
Desert is like walking through the history of the
Earth. The different colors represent the different phases of the earth. The Painted
Desert covers an area of 93,500 acres over 160 square
miles. This area spans the history of Earth back to when dinosaurs roamed the
area, fresh and salt water filled the valleys and the earth shifted.
This area has been home to ancient Indian tribes to western
outlaws to thieves who stole the petrified wood. Now it is a protected area with
some of the oldest solar calendars known. What was once a lush green forest in
prehistoric times is now a high, dry and beautiful desert. The Petrified National
Forest makes for an interesting
science stop during your Arizona
vacation.
Archeologists have discovered more than 150 plant fossils
from 200 million years ago plus ancient dinosaur remains, there is also the
ancient solar calendar at Puerco Pueblo. Puerco Pueblo was still inhabited
after the mysterious demise of Mesa Verde in Colorado from 1250
to 1380 A.D.
The Petrified Forest in Arizona has
four main areas, Jasper Forest, Blue
Mesa, The Crystal Forest and Rainbow Forest. Blue Mesa and
Jasper are so delicate that hiking is off limits. The Rainbow forest at the
south end of the park has the museum and Agate House, which is a fascinating
hut made out of petrified logs by Native Indians in the 1500s.
The Petrified Forest National
Park is located 25 miles east of Holbrook, Arizona. You
can hike and or drive through the park and there are campsites.
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| Painted Desert / Kevin Dooley CC BY 2.0 |
The Grand Canyon
No vacation to Arizona would
be complete without a trip to The Grand Canyon. The Grand
Canyon in Arizona is
probably one of the most beautiful and awe inspiring places in the United
States. Like the Painted
Desert and the Petrified
Forest, the Grand Canyon shows
the evolution of the planet over millions of years in this part of Arizona.
The Grand Canyon is 277
miles long with the Colorado River
flowing at the bottom. The south rim of the Grand
Canyon is the most popular area and home to the park
headquarters. The Grand Canyon Village at the
south rim is where you will find the hotels, restaurants and the Grand
Canyon railway with service between the Grand
Canyon and Williams, Arizona. You
can take guided tours, hike and raft in the Grand
Canyon.
The North Rim of the Grand
Canyon is more remote and less crowded with
campgrounds and hotels in Jacobs, Arizona, 45
miles to the north. This area is only open during the summer since it is higher
in elevation and closed all winter because of snow.
Saguaro National Park
Whether you vacation in Arizona during
the summer or the winter, the Saguaro National
Park near Tucson, Arizona is a
preserve for the large saguaro cactus forest. This cactus is unique to the Sonora Desert in Arizona and Mexico,
standing at 50 feet tall, it is known as the “King of the Desert”. Most might
think a cactus is just a thorny plant in the middle of nowhere, but this cactus
will bloom every spring into summer making it a beautiful sight in the desert.
Chiricahua National Park
This is a favorite hiking area 90 miles from Tucson, Arizona
that was formed 200 million years ago when a massive volcano erupted leaving
2,000 feet of ash. Over the years the ash hardened and then eroded leaving
behind bizarre shaped rock spires that rise several hundred feet high. You can
hike or drive through the park and also visit an original Arizona
pioneer homestead called Faraway Ranch.
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Shiprock / U.S. Geological Survey CC BY 2.0
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Native Indian Tribes
When you vacation in Arizona, you
might also want to visit some of the Native American tribal areas. Human
existence in Arizona can be
traced back 12,000 years and you can still see the remains of these ancient
villages in Arizona today.
Learn about the rules of each Native American area before
you enter. Some tribes invite tourism while others do not, the White Mountain
Apache and Navajo Nation do support tourism to mention two. You can learn a
great deal about Native American cultures while on a vacation in these areas.
There are tours of ancient villages, just be careful in
these areas since some are sacred and some are hundreds of years old. These
tribal areas have their own laws and governments. Do not take drugs and only
use alcohol where you know it is allowed. Ask permission before taking any
photographs. For more about visiting these Native American areas, go to the
Indian Arts and Crafts web site of the US Department of the Interior.
If your vacation in Arizona takes
you to the four-corners area, where Colorado, Utah, New
Mexico and Arizona meet,
you will be in the Navajo Nation in all states except Colorado. Just
over the Arizona border
in New Mexico is the
famous Shiprock, which means “winged rock” and plays an important role in
Navajo religion and mythology.
The Dams and Lakes of Arizona
Some favorite vacation spots in Arizona are Lake
Mead, Lake Powell and Lake Havasu with Lake
Mead having 700 miles of shoreline and is the
country's largest reservoir. Some just take a vacation to these areas so they
can golf, hike, water ski, swim, fish or even rent a houseboat to relax on the
large dam. Lake Mead was
created with the building of Hoover Dam (originally called Boulder Dam).
Winter or Summer Vacation in Arizona
Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona are
hot in the summer, but in the winter, they are delightful places to be when it
is freezing up north when many people plan an Arizona
vacation just to golf. Many of the hotter places to vacation in Arizona near Tucson are
very pleasant during the winter. While during the summer, the northern areas of
Arizona are
cool and pleasant.
Copyright © 2010 Sam
Montana
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