Winter has come to the Painted Desert.

This is from Sunday, November 24. It rained on Saturday and turned to snow late in the afternoon. In the morning we were greeted with a scene much like what we have seen for years and years living in MN; a scene that we had not cared to see ever again. And, the weather continues to be just like winter although no snow. The bad news is it’s getting down into the 20’s at night, and this week a deep freeze pushing into AZ is predicted to plunge temps into the lower-teens. The good news is the low-teens are still on the positive side of zero. Winnebago assures us that if we keep the propane furnace running, we shouldn’t have any trouble with freezing water. We are soon going to test whether experience shows a different reality.

The good news with winter at PEFO is that the snow doesn’t stay very long especially when the sun burns through the clouds. And as always, it is very beautiful. By the afternoon of Sunday, the majority of the snow had melted and the Painted Desert looked like above.

The Painted Desert on the north end of the PEFO is separated from the highlands where the park road is located by a large dry drainage called Lithodendron Wash. Until this weekend in November the wash had been dry. We have crossed it several times in our hikes into the wilderness. On the Sunday of the snow, lots of water was running in the wash, and a new scene of beauty greeted us as we looked northward and westward from the park drive.

This country still holds lots of surprises. Every day the scenery changes. Wetness brings out a shine to the petrified wood and some of the badland formations. Partial cloudiness brings changes to color and patterns from the shade of the floating clouds overhead. Total cloudiness produces flat light which brings out the petroglyphs that normally go in and out of shadows depending on the time of the day. Total cloud cover tends to make some of the petroglyphs easier to see. Late afternoons produce long and deep shadows illuminating various badland features that normally are passed over when the light is brighter. I never get tired of driving through the park, and yesterday we finally saw some mule deer. Still to see are the pronghorn.

So far the beauty of PEFO and the fun of learning all the new things about this area out-weigh the runny noses and the worry of a frozen water system. However, our finger tips are getting numb and our grip is starting to slip.