Painted Desert and Petrified Forest

WOW!  What more can one say about the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest.  They are so different, so truly extraordinary, so indescribable.  When I first entered the park I was unimpressed.  It had some scrubby old rocks and flat land with some brown grass.  I thought, another disappointment.  And then I turn a bend and the excitement started.  It was just phenomenal how the colors were layered so perfectly to make up the hills.  Each color was caused by a different element in the soil.  It was magical.

The petrified wood was something else.  It is hard to explain and I don't think you can see it in the pictures.  You can still see the rings in the cross sections of the trunks.  Depending on what chemicals were in the water at the time, they worked with the silica already there to create the different colored agate.  You can see the details of the bark as it was when the tree first fell down.  The minute details are so special that they leave a lasting impression on you.

I have been reflecting a lot on fearlessness, depression and change lately.  Today I passed Wickenburg, Arizona.  Many years ago my mother heard about a Dude Ranch there and insisted that we go.  It turned out to be very exclusive and beautiful and I was in a deep depressive period. I spoiled it for both of us.  It was a very sad experience and I now can reflect on all the sad experiences I had in my life before good meds.  All the potential good experiences I missed or spoiled.  I guess I wish I could go back and apologize to the people who's time I also spoiled.

My conquest of fearfulness is going well.  My trip to the Hoover Dam has certainly proved that I am over my fear of heights.  My experience with ladders hasn't been quite so successful, but that has more to do with my clumsy feet and my questionable center of gravity, than of fear.  I also came a long way towards overcoming my fear of walking on slippery rocks.