Petrified Forest NP July 11

I made a brief detour on my journey east to check out Petrified Forest National Park. Not much to report except the obvious: copious amounts of vibrant, 200 million year old wood strewn across badlands of Chinle Formation. Logs to 150 feet long and 5 feet in diameter. Desert pavement mosaics of nothing but pebble-sized fragments of petrified wood. Sadly, it's clear the place has seen better days- short walks off the trails reveal the best and most colorful pieces remaining. Almost within a minute of crossing the continental divide east of Albuquerque, the whole country goes flat. Nothing but clouds to keep one's sanity in the vast expanse of pasture lands, telephone lines and barbed-wire fences. The most amusing thing was driving across Oklahoma with its many Indian place names like Tecumseh and Shawnee, to then see a sign for Lotsawatah, a town near a large lake. I am currently in Rogers, Arkansas, Wal-MartLand USA. I enjoyed the grand strobes of a passing thunderstorm this evening. I have high hopes for Arkansas; it's prettier here than I could have imagined.