2001-04-23 - Petrified Forest

I am back at the park again, a little battle weary but ready for the next chapter. I still have a way to go but I notice improvement daily. I do not remember ever having anything that laid me out that fast nor that held me down for so long. I still tire easily and will take it easy until I return to whatever is normal for me. I have found out that several people that have come to the park have been laid out by this ailment so I guess I do not feel that I was singled out by Mother Nature.

I wish I could do more research on this to see if others have been bothered in the Spring when the winds run so high and dust is such a problem. If this is a microbe based airborne delivered ailment then perhaps people should be made aware of this. If somebody has a predisposition toward these sort of problem it has been and can be fatal.

I was very fortunate that I had people that I could hide out with while I grappled with this darn thing, I would have been under the weather for a longer time if I had not been nagged to eat something rather than just consuming liquids. While that was probably good for the system, I needed the nourishment as well but just didn't feel like eating at all.

The drive back up on Sunday was far better than the trip down the week prior. The scenery seemed even different, although I was disappointed at the overcast in the Salt River Canyon area which is the border between two Apache Reservations, The San Carlo and the Fort Apache. Hopefully I will get to visit that area before I leave. It isn't that far so should not be a major problem.

The temperature has warmed up, it is staying in the forties at night and the high 70s during the day. It finally is short sleeve shirt time and very pleasant. It will start to get hot this next month. Then the problem will be to keep sufficient fluids in the old body as one doesn't sweat here, the perspiration just evaporates too fast. I drink four liters of water a day now, this could get interesting later on.

I will be driving to Flagstaff on Thursday for a checkup which I think will show that lung capacity has improved and I will be clear to return to full work. I guess that means working as a clerk in the visitor's center again which is not my idea of fun but goes with the territory.

2001-04-24 - Today was a almost full day on the park roads and scenic spots talking to people and I just love it. I fell in love with two young ladies from Sienna Italy who were most impressed that I had visited their city and could draw a map of San Gimignano and the location of a restaurant they had to agree was the best in town. It was a fun hour!

The remainder of the day was spent mostly as fill is as required or wandering up and down the park road. I did two impromptu walk and talks with tour buses, one of which was all French students. The other was more conventional with a much older average age. They were both fun of course but in different ways. I returned back to Tiny and was stretched out relaxing within an hour. I still tire out easily. I sure hope that I get my energy level back up; I am eating a little differently plus adding vitamins and the like. I even cheated and ate out one night, the first time since I left Tucson in March. I do not like eating out by myself.

2001-04-25 - Today was another almost full day but also today was team meeting day which results in nothing being accomplished until lunch time. By the time I stood in while others had their lunch, it was almost 1400 before I started any roaming.

I did enjoy watching a raven standing underneath one of the park interpretive signs so he could stay in the shade. Any other bird that attempted to get close got chased away. I would imagine direct sunlight could really increase the body temperature of an all black bird very rapidly.

It was warm today, I pulled out the awning for the side of Tiny which helps a little and I am parked in the shade of a Cottonwood Tree which will also help. Of course the temperature will drop drastically at sunset but such is desert life.

I did wash the sheets and pillowcases and have left them, in addition to the quilts, outside all day which should reduce the dust in Tiny as well.

2001-04-26 - Returned from Flagstaff about 1800 last night, pleasant drive except that it sprinkled just a little bit measurable in drops on the way and there were high cumulus clouds most of the way not helping any photographic endeavors.

I have driven by Meteor Crater; several times now and my curiosity was piqued but I never felt I had time to stop. I did stop this time and was pleasantly surprised. It is more than just a good sized hole in the ground. It surfaces several questions I have not answered yet.

The crater was formed when the debris caused by a collision of asteroids somewhere in the vicinity of Jupiter blasted into the Earth's atmosphere some 50,000 years ago.

The meteor or cluster of meteorites, about 150 feet across and weighing several hundred thousand tons impacted with the explosive force greater than 20 million tons of TNT or 1000 times more force than the first atomic bomb.

The surface shock wave of this impact devastated all living organisms for miles. The subterranean shock wave, caused by pressures in excess of 20 million pounds per square inch vaporized and melted, ejected sufficient rock and debris to form a crater 700 feet deep and 4000 feet in diameter.

The geological formations were literally inverted by the explosion. The pulverized bedrock, Coconino sandstone, wound up forming the upper rim of the crater as if the earth had been bent back upon itself.

The guide was well versed in the crater and its history and articulate in his explanations. This added significantly to the tour of course.

On the way out I had my first encounter with the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. He or she, I wasn't about to get closer, was curled up on the asphalt surface catching rays of sunshine. I stopped, remaining in Tiny, until such snake decided that sunbathing was not in the best interest of its future and slithered away into the desert. My first impression was that "snake" was twenty feet long but in reality probably no more than four or five.

The trip back to Petrified Forest was otherwise uneventful, I made a food stop for the weekend and I guess the trip this weekend will be into the White Mountains and Apache country, mainly Fort Apache, Tonto National Monument and Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, a trip of less than 300 miles.

2001-04-27 - I was roaming most of the day; I was half way down the park when I noticed a black cloud coming in from the West. I turned around and got back to the park headquarters as fast as possible and just in time to take down the awning and tie everything down. I still got drenched at the very last minute but at least nothing was damaged. I have an idea that I will no longer let the awning stay up while I am away.

2001-04-28 - In celebration of its 85^th year of service, this has been National Park Week with a number of special events thrown in to add zest to the celebration. Today the "Harvey Girls", a group of girls employees of the Fred Harvey Corporation which has operated the concession of food and curios for the park since 1947, put on demonstrations of he costumes and equipment that was in use in the early days. It was very interesting, many employees are third generation "Harvey Girls."

I played roaming a good portion of the day, mostly at Puerco Pueblo which always enjoy. There were quite a number of visitors to the extent that I found it difficult to break away to relieve people for lunch. I had to apologize for being late.

I stayed around to closing and soon after went to sleep, I was tired.