Heading eastward from our stay in the Wigwam Motel we spent some time at Petrified Forest and then continued north and east through some of the Painted Desert area. Ye Olde Photographer is quite certain there coyuld be a lot of pictorially interesting transitions as the sun works its way across the sky. There are likely to be further changes, both in lighting and in vegetation, dependent on the season of the year. Alas, we were just passing through, and in mid-July temperatures easily move into triple digits ºF, so the desire to linger can be fleeting.

Though it is, by many standards, a desert, just as in southern Utah, there is a remarkable array of rugged geology on display. There are all sorts of craggy ridges and mountainous formations with different rock layers visible. There is some vegetation and wildlife, but in general the area is rather sparse and foreboding. There apparently is a monsoon season which can bring torrential rainfall, and a winter can provide a bit of snow. Presumably that maintains some underground water supply for the plants that survive there.

This stop was part of the Grand Tour 2016, a 5800 mile drive through flyover country!