RVing With a Purpose

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.

Crystal Forest Campground allows free camping for RVs

Sunset at the southern entrance of Petrified Forest NP

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 Dark Sky Permit allows you to be in the park after hours, but you must stay in one of the designated parking areas until the park reopens.

The yucca plants were starting to bloom.

As we were driving back to the north end of the park we saw this storm on the horizon…

Just to avoid any confusion about the time in Arizona

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.

On Wednesday morning when we left our overnight parking spot there was still hail accumulated on the side of the road

The high desert still has pretty flowers.

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.

The City of Aztec is kind enough to provide free overnight parking for RVs, complete with a free dump station and water fill. And it’s right outside the police department.

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.

After touring the ruins we drove around the area and ended up parking by the river to get caught up on some writing.

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.

Jack Sizemore RV Museum

Monday, May 11, 2026

On April 30th, after a peaceful night in the Amarillo Visitor Information Center parking lot and another quick trip to Buckee’s next door, we drove to our next recommended destination, the Jack Sizemore RV Museum. Thanks, Dave for the recommendation. This museum was amazing! It’s a relatively small museum but has some real jewels, especially if you are an RVer. Definitely worth the time and there was no charge, although they do appreciate donations.

This motorhome was featured in the Robin William’s movie RV

This was our favorite motorcycle in the museum.

After our visit to the museum we headed west to New Mexico with a quick stop at the famous Route 66 attraction “Cadillac Ranch”.

On the way out of Amarillo we stopped at Braum’s ice cream for the first time since we worked in Muskogee in 2023.

The ten cars at Cadillac ranch.

We wouldn’t want to stay parked here very long for fear of getting spray painted.

Palo Duro Canyon

Sunday, May 10, 2036

On April 29th after saying sad see you laters, we left Lubbock bound for Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon, Texas. We had heard it is a great place for hiking and Dave and Carol had given us some pointers. We arrived and checked out the visitor center which has several displays illustrating the history and geology of the canyon. It is the second largest canyon in the US. From there we drove down into the canyon to hike the most popular trail in the park – Lighthouse Trail. It is named after Lighthouse Rock (the destination) which is a 310′ tall erosion resistant spire in the canyon. The trail is about 3 miles each way and classified as “moderate”.