DV to AZ 2022 winter trip

[Daymoth]

So there were two places we were intrigued and were hoping to see on this trip. We were hoping to make it to Bisti wilderness in NM and then loop around and see Petrified Forest NP on our way back westward. However, with a big snow storm coming our way wednesday looked like a hunker down and dont touch a car day. So we decided to change our itinerary and go to Petrified first so if the roads were unsafe and the badlands a muddy mess we would at last spent one day in one of the two places.

In petrified forest we were not going to have enough time before the storm to check out the backcountry as we were hopping, so we scouted the viewpoints and hikes on the map. It was nice but we were on a road and the trails were all paved and felt the opposite of adventure. Maybe its a me thing but i hate trails that are too obviously man made.

The badlands are super striking. They are purple and white. Like absurdly purple and white. And somehow the purple and white doesnt mix, they are in perfect stripes. And if thats not weird enough there is colourful petrified wood scattered everywhere.

We ended up going back to the badlands and taking a use trail that went up some white and purple hills and canyons, it was fantastic and way better than the official trails. Really want to go back and explore further.

The light was awful though. And my husband and my cameras rendered the colours completely different and different than how I remembered. Ive spent hours trying to make the photos look how I remember it but I GIVE UP, this is the best I can do.

But it was purple, like real purple. Crazy purple.









After sunset we went to a motel in Holbrook. I had picked up covid or the flu few days before and passed it on to my husband and it hit him like a truck. Good thing it coincided right with the storm. He spent all day in bed fighting a fever and I watched the Sopranos and monitored road conditions while the four corners got hammered with rain, snow and sleet.