Where the Apollo Astronauts Walked

May 23, 2026

When last we left you, we had just departed Winslow on May 6th.  From there we drove about 60 miles  to Cinder Hills Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) area near Flagstaff, AZ.  It is a national forest service dispersed camping area with free camping.  The road was a little rough going in but BB handled it just fine.  This would be our home for the next two nights. We weren’t sure what we were getting into but wow it turned out to be a great stay. We were just looking for a quiet spot to catch our breath. While there we happened to check our geocaching app and located a virtual geocache here called “Cinder Lake History”.  That led us to checking into the history of this spot. (That’s one of the best things about the way we travel.  We learn such interesting things we would have never known.)  The Cinder Lake Crater Field is a historic man-made copy of the lunar landscape.  It was constructed in the late 1960s by NASA using hundreds of pounds of dynamite.  After the build, the Apollo astronauts used the site to practice navigating the simulated terrain, walking on the rough surface and testing equipment like the lunar rover.  Today they are still using some of the locations for training for the modern Artemis missions.  How cool is that.  We have now walked/hiked in some of the same steps where our astronauts have trained.

Only about ten minutes down the road is the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument – a monument to the most recent volcanic eruption in Arizona.    A volcanic eruption occurred here approximately AD 1085 with the two largest vents being Bonito and Kana-a flows extending 1.6 miles and 6.2 miles respectively.  These lava flows were also training sites for the Apollo astronauts.  Today vegetation is covering some of the flow areas, but other areas are still visible. What would you expect after 1000 years?  Hiking to the summit is no longer permitted because of erosion caused by hikers.  However, there are a few nice trails that are still accessible and a 35 mile scenic loop drive.

After spending a beautiful morning enjoying God’s creation and a quick shower in the picnic area we headed south,  getting closer to our NOMADS, Volunteer Mission assignment – enjoying more of His creation along the way.

Winslow, Arizona

May 22, 2026

On May 6 (yes, we know that was a week and a half ago), after our morning excursions in the Petrified Forest (see previous post), we said goodbye to the peace and quietness of the National Park.  We elected to drive another section of the old Route 66 road where it was still intact. When we were back in Texas, we did the Route 66 section in Adrian, TX which was the midpoint of the entire route, Chicago to Los Angles.  Today we did the section that brought us to Winslow, Arizona.

Anne’s brother Jim’s request was that we send him pictures “standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ.”  We discovered there was a lot more to see than just Winslow ‘s corner.  Our first stop was the visitor’s center.  It was also a very nice museum, and the hostess was very helpful.  She recommended that we just leave BB in the parking lot and walk the downtown area. She gave us directions to a number of attractions.  Of course, the next stop was at “the corner in Winslow AZ.”  We took several pictures and took several pictures for others gathered on the corner.  We were there on a Thursday morning and were surprised at the number of people standing on the same corner.

We also went to another museum that housed the “Big Rug”.  In 1932 Julia Bha Joe and daughter Lillie Joe Hill began a journey to create “the worlds largest Navajo Rug” for Lorenzo Hubbell, Jr’s Winslow Trading Post.  With a lot of help from family and friends, they spent the next five years working on the project.  It took 2 years to spin the yarn and then 3 more years to weave the rug which is 21’4”x32’7” and weighs 250 pounds.  If you are interested, the Big Rug has a very interesting and touching history. Winslow had more to offer than we anticipated but soon it was time to move on.

Petrified Forest National Park

May 16, 2026

Continuing with our travels on May 4, after leaving Bisti Badlands, we crossed over into Arizona. We drove about 4 hours and then exited I 40 and entered the Petrified Forest National Park located in northeastern Arizona.  It is a high-desert famous for its massive amounts of 225 million year old crystallized wood and the painted desert badlands.  It is also the only US national park that protects a section of historic Route 66.  We entered the park’s north entrance and stopped at the Painted Desert Inn which is currently serving as the welcome center while improvements are being made to the older welcome center.  We drove through the park stopping at a few scenic overlooks for pictures and exited the south entrance, spending the night at Crystal Forest Campground (free).  It was getting late.  This was a momentous day. By spending the night in Arizona, we now have spent the night in all 49 states reachable by RV.  We have been to Hawaii too, but they haven’t yet built a bridge.

The next morning, May 5, we re-entered the park from the south and stopped at the Rainbow Forest Visitor Center.  We wanted to get a Dark Sky Permit which would grant us permission to spend the night in the park.  We had to drive back to the northern welcome center to actually get the permit, (Google told us we could get permit at either location – wrong!)  but we were able to acquire one of the only 3 permits issued each day.  The permit allowed us to spend the night at one of 3 locations in the northern end of the park so we could do some nighttime photography as well as sunrise pictures.  After acquiring the permit we had the rest of the day to experience the park.

The only dark sky we had was from storms so we didn’t get any night photos. The next morning was beautiful as we drove back through the park to pick up Old Route 66 again.  We stopped along the way to take a few more pictures.

This is an amazing park.  You can see this park in two ways.  Many people do quick half day or less drive through visits and you can see a lot but probably won’t be that impressed.  However, if you allow yourself about 1 ½ to 2 days to visit the park we think you will be really impressed.  We’ve never seen as much petrified wood of all different colors and shapes and the Painted Desert is beautiful.  There are a number of short hikes and a few longer ones that we recommend as well.  Lastly, it was a really cool experience to be in the park after everyone else (except rangers) were gone.  It was so quiet and peaceful. We recommend this park and enjoyed it more than we expected.

Petroglyphs, Ruins and Good Friends

May 12, 2026

We stayed the night at the New Mexico welcome center after driving about 1 mile into Mexico on Thursday April 30. On May 1, after a good night of rest, we headed on down the road with places and people to see.  A short time later we began to notice that the temperature outside was dropping quickly down to 37 degrees and then there was rain mixed with sleet hitting our windshield.  This was not in our plans for the day.  Fortunately, by the time we arrived in Albuquerque the weather was nice again.  We stopped at the Petroglyph National Monument and walked several shorter trails and visited the visitors center so we could get our Passport stamped.

We still had miles to go and left Albuquerque in route to Aztec, NM and our NOMADS friends, Shannon and Mariel.  They were also in a new home.  Seems to be a pattern on this trip. Anne might be getting a little jealous.  We arrived at Shannon and Mariel’s in time for a wonderful dinner and visit.  We then overnighted in BB at the municipal park.  It was only five minutes from their house, free of charge with water and dump station.  Nice.

On Saturday morning we met Shannon and Mariel at the Aztec Ruins National Monument.  Like the museum in Lubbock, this site is still being excavated and reminds us of our trip several years ago to Mesa Verde and they aren’t very far away.

Sunday morning, May 3, we enjoyed church services with Shannon and Mariel and then got back on the road.  Still lots to see and miles to cover before we land on Mingus Mountain, AZ in a few more days.