It's nice when jet lag works in your favor. Since I was still on east coast time, when I woke at my usual time of 5am it felt like I had slept till 8, which it was, back in New England. So I dressed quietly and slipped out to see the sunrise. At first I thought it might have already risen, and actually looked for it, since the sky was bright blue and cast a diffused light over the desert landscape.

But in the east there was only a smudge of crimson, so I sat on the wall of the Painted Desert Inn, overlooking the badlands, and waited. It wasn't long before a molten drop of gold slipped up above the horizon rose so quickly I almost could see it move.

Cliff Roses at Sunrise near the Painted Desert Inn

After a walk on the Desert Rim Trail, where the wildflowers greeted the sunrise, I returned to the house to find John recovering from an acrimonious run in with a huge centipede who was standing his ground in our kitchen sink. It appears they bite, or sting in Arizona.

We did a quick search on the internet for poisonous insects to confirm that he would survive, then got into our little rental car for a tour of the park. Our first few overlooks were close to each other and our house and offered slightly different views of the badlands and Painted Desert below. I took note of those that had a good trail down into the monuments for future painting spots, and looked for the possibility of using the location for my charcoal sketching class. The only one with shade, picnic tables and even a restroom had no good views from the tables. The rest were too exposed, with the views too distance for beefy charcoal drawings, and possibly too hard to hike for a closer view.

 

Continuing on, the road crosses the ghost highway of Route 66 and busy Route 40 and heads south, over grasslands and the Santa Fe railroad tracks. The first pullouts on the southern end are Puerco Pueblo, and Newspaper Rock (petroglyphs). Interesting historic sites but not conducive to painting or drawing. Then the terrain changes and the road dips down into an area called the Tepees. 

The Tepees

These cone-shaped badlands remind me of South Dakota. I'd like to come back, and hike into their crevices with my easel, but they are too exposed and remote for a class. Blue Mesa is also a place that makes me happy and the loop trail that goes down between the formations would also be a great place to paint.

Blue Mesa trail

By the time we hike back up the paved trail the heat is getting to us. We are jumping in and out of the car so often the air conditioning never has a chance to kick in, and we have so many applications of sunblock that we leave grease stains wherever we go, but we continue on to the Agate Bridge (A petrified log bridge, reinforced by concrete decades ago). Oh yes, they do have petrified wood here. We have passed many logs and stumps sunken into the grasslands and poking out of the monuments, but when we reach the Crystal Forest, we see it in its psychedelic glory.

 

Not to be outdone by the psychedelic glory of the little Collard Lizard with his cute yellow feet, perched on a petrified log, naturally.

 

Back in the car, we drive for another 5 miles and reach the southern entrance to the park. By now all we want to do is eat lunch and pop in the visitor's center. The last two trails  - Giant, and Long Log - will have to wait for another day. I'm hoping one will provide a setting for my class. 

I take over the wheel and drive the 25 miles back to our little house, where we scrape off the sunblock and shower. After chilling a bit I go visit the other visitor center and poke around, then go to the beginning of the Wilderness Trail behind the Painted Desert Inn and do a little postcard sized goauche of the badlands below. 

And then the sun warms the painted desert before setting behind the San Fransisco Peaks and giving over the sky to the moon and Venus, and a midnight peek at the Milky Way.