DAY SEVEN

SANTA FE, NM - ALBUQUERQUE, NM - PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK, AZ - FLAGSTAFF, AZ

LEFT SANTA FE: 11AM, ARRIVED FLAGSTAFF: 8:30PM (GAINED AN HOUR.)

I wasn't expecting today to be as eventful as it was, but am certainly continuously learning that this country holds surprises at every turn. We had a really good breakfast at the Days Inn (belgian waffle maker - what, what!) and left around 11am to head down to Albuquerque. I didn't have much planned for this city, as I was imagining just passing through on our way to Arizona. I decided, however to look up locations that Breaking Bad is filmed at (Kenny and I just watched all 4.5 seasons in the past few months) and had a really great and exciting time finding them. Our first stop was probably the most important - Walter White's household. 

the White residence

It was so cool to be there and imagine throwing a pizza on the roof! Our next stop was the carwash that Skyler and Walter buy, and we decided to go for the full experience by getting our car washed (well, partly for the experience, and partly because our windshield has been an insect holocaust for the past week.) 

From there, we drove to the apartment that Jesse Pinkman and Jane lived in, and then drove over to Twister, a burger/burrito place that is the setting of Los Pollos Hermanos. 

Jesse's apartment

We got lunch at Twister, and then were off back along I40 to Flagstaff. We attempted to stop at the Sky City at Acoma Pueblo, which was unfortunately closed, so we got back on the high way and continued on. The scenery along the way was very beautiful, and became very canyon-y quickly. 

Stopped on the side of the road

crazy rain storm

Our car taking a much needed break

I40

So many old cars everywhere

I really can't believe the variety in landscapes we've seen just driving over the past 6 days. At 5pm we arrived in Arizona, and decided it was too late to make it over to Sedona. Instead, we went to Petrified Forest National Park, which did not disappoint. We were a little confused, getting off the highway and entering the park, especially when we didn't see any trees. But after a quick Wikipedia search, we learned that the site of Petrified Forest was indeed a lush forest - two hundred and thirty million years ago. Through time, the area, which sits in a canyon, was filled with water, and through some sort of sciency stuff, the trees were petrified, and preserved as rock-like structures. Now, the trees don't stand, but instead remnants of them are scattered throughout the park. There are many logs and stumps, which are really amazing to see. They were already two hundred million years old when dinosaurs walked the earth...... Within the park, we were able to see the Painted Rocks, which are a beautiful gray and pink, the teepees, and the rainbow forest. 

After a lot of time and pictures, we moved on, and eventually made it to Flagstaff. I was not at all expecting this hip mountain town, but it's nice and we're staying tonight at the Grand Canyon International Hostel!