Petrified Forest National Park

 Our next stop on our way home was Petrified Forest National Park.  This turned out to be one of Mom's favorite National Parks.  They actually allow dogs to walk on the trails, but it was so cold and windy that I only did one.  We actually broke out the winter coats while we were there.

The wood feels smooth, like glass.  

Route 66 is right there in the park.

Mom has been getting her National Park Passport Book stamped since 2012.  She has wanted to get the collector editions book but no one had it until this park. She was so excited and it was priced below what she saw it for online at the National Park's store before it sold out.  The employee told her they were increasing the price at the end of the week. She plans on copying her old stamps and putting them in this one.

The new book vs. the old one.

The first stamp in the new book.

We planned to stay in a Walmart parking lot, but the temperature was supposed to be 21 degrees, so once again we had to scramble for a campground.  Mom called several until we came up with one.  It was actually called Route 66 Casino RV Park in Albuquerque, NM. This was a nice park and it had two dog parks.  The dog parks had grass! We didn't know for sure if they would accept us because we are in a van and they are more upscale.  They had one site left and they gave it to us.

This dog park had some gravel and sand but it had grass!

Another stop on Route 66 before we stopped for the night.

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Was Not Allowed To Pee on The Petrified Wood

Exploring Route 66

The folks set out on Saturday to explore Route 66 here.  Route 66 actually runs near our home in Missouri and we have traveled it many times.  Mama loves getting off the interstate and driving down Route 66.   She would love to take it from Chicago to California someday.

Scout and I stayed at home and rested.  We had a big adventure on Sunday that we will tell you about later this week.  Oh, we did meet some nice people on Friday night.  One of them worked at Southland Race Track.  That is where I raced.  We talked to them for a while and Scout said the one guy really knows how to give a good face rub. 

The folks stopped at a restaurant called the Polk-A-Dot Drive In.  It is a 50's themed restaurant.  The reviews were not that good, but they wanted to see it for themselves.  They went in not expecting the food to be very good, but it turned out to be a nice place.

 

Outside the restaurant

Inside - each table had a jukebox.

Cheeseburger, fries and coleslaw - 1/4 pound of mushrooms in the background which was six.

Cheeseburger

The food was actually pretty good.  Mama has definitely had worse and spent a lot more money at other places.  The prices really were not bad.  Her meal with soda was about $5.  At first she regretted not getting a double cheeseburger, but then she couldn't even finish the fries, so a double burger was not necessary.  The staff was very nice and the tables were clean.  She had read reviews that the place was dirty, but it was not when they were there.

Mama was very surprised when she walked into the ladies' restaurant.  It is covered in Elvis' photos.  She felt like he was watching her.  LOL

Elvis in his underwear.  She had not seen that photo before.

More photos of celebrities in the restaurant.

Elvis is everywhere!

Gumball machine.

The folks would definitely eat here again.  It looked like it is a favorite of the locals.  The place was crowded when they left.



The next stop was Walgreens. Dad needed to get his photo taken for his passport.  Mission accomplished. They then started looking around Route 66.

Blues Brothers on top of ice cream stand.

Old gas pump

Car on top of gas station says "California or Bust".

Route 66- This is the section that we travel at home.

The entire Route 66.

Guess where the folks ate Saturday night?  Paula Deen's Restaurant!  Yep, she has a place here in Joliet. We will tell you about that tomorrow.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Starting To Make Friends Here