We decided
to check out a couple of museums recommended by the locals. The first stop was Jim Grey’s Petrified Wood
Company which is a retail store and museum combination.
No matter
how you figure it, that isn’t going to fit in the motorcoach.
This place
is huge, this is just one half of the store.
This highly
polished amethyst log didn’t photograph well because of the ceiling lights
shining down on it. You can see the
purple spot in the middle where the amethyst is still present. I understand that a lot of the petrified logs
have had the amethyst and quartz removed from them years ago by collectors. The price tag on this piece is $49,000.
This is one huge
geode. I need to do more reading on
geodes, it is hard to believe that something so plain outside is so beautiful
inside.
Most of the
petrified wood we have seen is called “rainbow wood” because of all the varied
colors. The museum here has some other
examples of petrified wood.
This Ironwood
is less colorful and is known for its bark, knots and growth rings.
This is rare
green petrified wood, it is much greener than it shows in this picture, almost
leaf green. The green is the result of
chromium in the ground water.
This really
large pond is set up at the back of the store to demonstrate how petrified wood
might be used as part of your landscape.
Knowing the weight and the cost of this wood, I’m thinking you have to
have some heavy equipment and a lot of money to accomplish this.
Because of
our lifestyle we need to keep souvenirs small.
We chose a sand rose (front), and a piece of polished petrified wood
(right), the piece of unpolished petrified wood on the left was a freebie.
These are
going in my southwest “planter” which contains our only remaining cactus plant
and some other souvenirs from the southwest. I’m thinking the little purple pot is going to
have to find another home.
Our next
stop was a museum that used to be the Navajo County Court House which was built
in 1898. Time has taken a toll on the
building, but it still contains some things that are interesting.
I thought of
Mom when I saw this display. She used to
get Evening in Paris perfume from my three brothers and me for Mother’s Day and
her birthday. I think that was our
choice because it was all we could afford, I’m not even sure she liked the
fragrance, but I always liked the bright blue bottle.
This is
another one for Mom, she used to work at the telephone company in Lapel, IN and
operated a switchboard I think would have been similar to this one.
This “chuck
box” was built in 1877 by one of the former mayors of Holbrook. It carried the beans, salted meats, coffee,
sugar, flour and other “biscuit fixins” on cattle drives into the early 1900’s.
Seeing
things you used in school in a museum really brings reality to the fact that
you aren’t necessarily as young as you feel.
We used desks just like these, ruined a lot of nylons on those rough edges.
We also used
this same equipment in high school business classes. That mimeograph machine brings back some
really bad memories – what a mess they could be.
The old
courtroom has some beautiful old wood trim and doors.
Old Route 66
runs through Holbrook, the fact that lots of travelers used to come through
town on Route 66 is emphasized by the number of small motels in town. Some are still operating, some are sitting
empty. The most interesting one we saw
was the Wigwam Motel – yes, you stay in the wigwams. We saw this when we stopped for a few
groceries at the one and only grocery store in town.
We will be
leaving here tomorrow morning heading to Albuquerque, NM for a week.
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