This morning we got up early to head back out to the Petrified National Forest Park. It gets mighty hot here during the day, although it is in the mid 40's at night. And can I just say, the lack of trees here means NO shade!

Well, fighting the early bird for the worm paid off. We were able to hike a trail and had a nice breeze, and saw some amazing wood rock. This very old petrified wood is hard like rock, but at times has the feel of plastic. When you find shards on the ground, you get the feeling the Indians could have used the pieces as cutting tools.

In some pieces, you can find every color of the rainbow. Pretty awesome!
In some places, the wood rock is strewn about. Everything you think is a rock in this picture is really the petrified wood.

We didn't see too much wildlife, it is the desert. But we did see this cute little guy, and a bunch of his buddies.

And even if we are in the desert, God provides for the need to see beauty in little ways,

and in big ways! Keep in mind, we haven't gotten to the Painted Desert, yet.

In 1250 - 1300, Native Americans lived in this area. They were gracious enough to leave some evidence of their lives. These are petroglyphs in Petrified National Forest.

Aside from the bird and his flock, we did manage to see a few cute lizards. Very colorful and very fast! This guy was a bit camera shy.

After seeing the colorful lizard, we gazed upon a colorful landscape. The pictures don't show it, but as with the petrified wood, there is every color of the rainbow in these rocks. It is just gorgeous.

All day today, we have been in the four corner area. Traveling through the North-Western part of New Mexico, we drove through a Navajo Indian Reservation. On the reservation, there are rock formations, standing by themselves. These were very captivating since they looked like some kind of castle that you would see in The Lord of the Ring movies.

While seeing all of this beauty today, there were some special people back home that are on our mind. These dear friends are having some hard times come upon them, either with a loss of a loved one, or having someone dear involved in an accident. We are so blessed to be able to have the experience of this trip, but please know we are praying for you and thinking of you every day. And we will soon be home(a bit over a week) to give hugs, cry, laugh, and chat together.

Have a terrific tomorrow and we hope those in the mid-Atlantic have enough clothes lines to hang everything out to dry!