Our next stop was at Agate Bridge.
Agate Bridge. Next we drove to Jasper Forest.
Jasper Forest showcases one of the largest accumulations of petrified wood in the park. Next we will visit Crystal Forest.
Views of Crystal Forest. Lastly we will see the Giant Logs and Long Logs at the Rainbow Forest Museum.
The Giant Logs and Long Logs. I went inside the Rainbow Forest Museum.
These creatures were once alive here in the past. I then waited for Robin in the car and once he arrived, we exited the park on the south end and took US 180 west to Holbrook then Interstate 40 to Winslow. We stopped at McDonald's for an early dinner then had one last thing to do here.
Robin at the Standin' on a Corner statue.
Chris at the Standin' on a Corner statue in Winslow, Arizona. We filled the car with petrol and headed west into the afternoon rain. A big rig had a major accident at the Interstate 40/25 interchange and then the rains started to fall. We found a train and reachedo Maine just as one was heading east.
The eastbound unit grain train.
BNSF 5476 West at Maine. We returned to Interstate 40 and the rain got worse. It was 50 MPH driving over the next hour as the good drivers stayed at the below the speed limit and those bad ones flew by. Once I neared Seligman, I decided to leave Interstate 40 for US 66 with a lot less traffic. Once we were closer to Peach Springs and back in the sunshine, I stopped for a picture.
That was the storm we had come out of and good riddance to it. We went to Peach Springs, found a green signal and waited.
BNSF 6583 West at Peach Springs. We took off to get another picture of this train.
BNSF 6583 West near Valentine. We headed to Kingman in a dust storm.
BNSF 6583 West nearing Kingman. We pulled off the highway and called Elizabeth to make a reservation for us at the Best Western in Needles. I did not want to stay in Kingman in a dust storm. Once on the move again we caught up and passed that train then crossed the Colorado River and we were back in our home state of California. We checked into the Best Western and it was 119 degrees Farenheit when we did. I worked on more of my stories before calling it a night.
On to Home 7/26/2016That blast furnace of Needles was still on when we packed the car and checked out. One last McDonald's breakfast and filling the car with petrol and we were off for home. I exited Interstate 40, taking US 95 to old US 66 to show Robin the way the Santa Fe Railroad crossed the desert. The road was open all the way to Ludlow and we did see some trains along the way. At Ludlow we returned to Interstate 40 and stopped at the rest area. On the move again at Barstow , we took Interstate 15 to CA 60 and construction delay due to a closed car pool lane for about a mile. CA 60 took me right onto the car pool lane on CA 57 to the car pool lane on Interstate 5 to the car pool lane on CA 55 and then the car pool lane on Interstate 405, where I exited at Brookhurst. A right on Talbert and soon we were back to Robin's apartment. He took his stuff out of my car and we both commented that it had been a fantastic trip to Colorado. I drove back to Talbert, then the normal freeway Interstate 405 south to CA 55 north to Interstate 5, exiting at 17th Street then straight up Santiago to my home. What a great trip it had been, but it was so good to be home again.
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