PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK

 I woke up eary in Tucson and set out on the road to the Petrified Forest National Park over a 300 mile drive starting in the dark.  But I was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise.

I arrived at the park about 10:30 am and stopped at the Painted Desert Inn Visitor Center first.  I got maps and advice and, of course, my passport stamped.  I set out on the 22 mile drive through the park, stopping at points of interest.

Painted Desert Inn Visitors Center

My first stop in the park was the Painted Desert Overlook.

Next stop was Puerco Pueblo with ancestral homes and petroglyphs.

Next stop was the Blue Mesa.

Then on to the place I've wanted to go since I was young, the Crystal Forest.  It has a short loop walk through an area where the petrified trees lay all about to see.  They are a marvel.  The colors!

I stopped at the Visitors Center at the other end of the park and visited the gift shop where I bought my own little piece of the park to take home.  If you didn't know, I have been known to pick up rocks on our vacations in other places to bring home, and it's illegal to take rocks from the park.

WALK IN MT RAINIER PARK

 We left early and headed south to Mount Rainier National Park for my birthday trip today.  It's about a two hour drive. 

We first drove up to the Longmire Visitors Center to get a stamp in the passport.  Then we headed back to the Kautz Creek Trail where we went for a short walk. 

When we reached this foot bridge we turned around and headed back.  This was the one mile mark.

There was lots of interesting mosses and lichens.  This is 'Toy Soldiers' lichen.

After, we headed out of the park to this nice little restaurant/inn, Copper Creek Restaurant and Inn for breakfast.  They had homemade blackberry jam!  So good, nice breakfast scramble, too.

A really nice mural in the dining area.

ON TO THE RETREAT

 I got up early and went exploring the Badlands National Park.  It is amazingly beautiful.

I went for a short walk around a boardwalk - it said to watch out for snakes.  Didn't see any but saw lots of beautiful plants and flowers.

I did see a Mountain Goat here though.

I had to wait until 8am for the Minute Man National Historic Park to open.  Normally, you could sign up for a tour down into the silo, but at the moment it's closed for repairs or something.  I would love to do that someday, but not today.  I have a long ways to go yet.  So, I got my passport stamped and headed out.

Since I'm in South Dakota, I wanted to stop in on the Capital Building in Pierre.  I must say, it's one of the most beautiful I've seen.  The marble and tile inside are very special.  But I didn't take photos of that.

Next and last stop in South Dakota was Britton, where my mother was born. 

The hospital where she was born is now an apartment building.

This plaque is outside that building.

I then headed north to North Dakota.  It was only about an hour's drive to Hankinson where the retreat would be held and I would meet up with my internet buddies.  We are staying at the St Francis Retreat Center, a convent.

I went 407 miles today.  That's a total of 2090 miles to get here.