Impulse Cruising Again

We had a nice breakfast at the hotel and left for Albuquerque. We stopped at the Petrified Forest National Park and drove through it from the south to the north. The landscape on the way there was very nondescript - flat, scrubby, and boring, and this continued into the park. No trees at all - not like the other parks we have seen.
Once we entered the park we started seeing large sections of petrified trees just lying around on the ground. At the Visitor's Center we got out and walked a loop that went by many specimens of these petrified pieces of trees as they were found long ago. The photo shows Bill with one tree that was almost whole. These just "emerge" from the ground as the sand and soil around them is washed away by rain and wind. None of them were moved to their current locations.
Back in the car we continued the drive through the park, and came upon different topography. There were big hills that had "stripes" that marked layers of different minerals - these are part of what is called the Painted Desert since they look like they were painted with the colored bands.
Also, we learned that much of what we saw is called "badlands," and these are areas of eroding rocks that do not support the growth of vegetation. The area is barren, rocky, and often looks like old quarry sites.
After leaving the park we stopped for gas on historic Route 66 for $2.95/gal on our way to Albuquerque, NM and checked into our hotel which is also on Route 66. Much of this famous highway has been included in newer highways but there are sections that are still driveable. After settling in we walked to "Old Town Albuquerque" to check it out and were rather disappointed. Some buildings are original, but most are built to look old and all are now shops or restaurants except for a church located by the plaza. We thought we would learn about early times in this town, but that was not to be. And, today is Monday, so many of the vendors were closed!
Not one restaurant there was open, so we walked back to the hotel and had some wine time, then drove to El Patio de Albuquerque and had a delicious dinner, followed by amazing sopapillas with honey. This was located near the university, and there were many interesting restaurants in the area. Back to the hotel for bedtime with full bellies...