Petrified Forest National Park Take Two
During our first year on the road we tried to visit the Petrified Forest National Park on 2/18/2019 but it snowed so much overnight that NPS never opened the park. Read about that adventure in our Boondocking Near The Petrified Forest article. Just over three years later we were ready to try again. Petrified Forest National Park take two!
Holbrook, AZ
After leaving the Phoenix area, we headed to Holbrook, AZ. I remember driving through this town in 2019 due to all the silly fake dinosaurs they have on the main street. Our plan was to stay one night at OK RV Park in Holbrook, and then head to the Petrified Forest National Park the next day. It was super windy when we arrived and we could tell a storm was coming. By morning on 2/23/2022, it started to snow. From the photos below you can see how quickly everything was covered in a few inches of snow. We decided to wait it out and stay another night. Hopefully, this would give the snow on the roof and slides time to melt.
By the next morning, it had stopped snowing but there was still snow on everything. I checked the NPS website and there was an alert that said the park would have a delayed opening. I was excited. A delayed opening works for me I thought, as long as it opens. Now it was time for us to get the RV road-ready. We had to get out our telescoping ladder and Penguin used the dustpan to scrape ice and snow off the slide toppers. Luckily, it came off easily so we were ready to start our adventure to the Petrified Forest.
Petrified Forest
Around 2 pm we finally made it to the Petrified Forest. Our first stop was the Crystal Forest, which is a 0.75-mile paved loop where you get to see many petrified logs up close. It’s funny because you are wondering where the “forest” part is when it’s really all open desert, but then you realize it was a forest a very long time ago. The trees had fallen in place, broken up, and then petrified due to the native silica in the ground and water that they absorbed through their roots when they were living. Next, we stopped at Puerco Pueblo and then finished with a quick stop at Chinde Point. We drove through the park with the motorhome and jeep with no problems. There was plenty of RV-sized pullouts and parking specifically for RVs at the major viewpoints.
Loud Bang
We finished our drive through the Petrified Forest and then got on the I-40 to Gallup, New Mexico. We parked at our site at the USA RV Park and started deploying our slides like we always do. This time, when the big front passenger slide went out, Penguin saw it extending more in the rear portion than the front. Before he could react there was a loud BANG, and the front caught up to the back in a fast motion that rocked the entire motorhome.
The slide went all the way out which was good, but Penguin was worried there was some sort of hydraulic problem. Upon going outside, the real issue became apparent. The slide topper roller bar had frozen or seized up during slide extension and eventually, the hydraulics overwhelmed the roller spring brake until it finally sheered that piece of aluminum clean off (the BANG!).
The entire roller bar had broken free of its housing on the front slide and was actually wedged into the side of the motorhome under the rain gutter (also probably part of the BANG!). See pictures for the damage. Penguin would have to take this apart and deal with it before we could pull the slide back in and leave the next day.