We enjoyed our recent visit to the Petrified Forest, located in northeastern Arizona and spreading through the state’s Navajo and Apache Counties. A mile high in elevation, the site holds thousands of fossil remnants of mature trees, some as unbelievably old as 335 million years.

When you examine them close-up, you can still see the original bark and wood grain, but it is all now solid rock. The area, managed by the National Park Service, is about 40 miles long by 15 miles deep.

Backpackers, campers and hikers find the desert weather dry and mild most of the year, except for some 30 degree nights from November through March. Rainfall averages less than an inch a month. However, there can be as much as an inch and a half each in July, August, September and October, usually in the form of sudden thunderstorms.

For more information about the Petrified Forest, go to nps.gov/pefo

The way it was. Regular cross-country air travel began shortly after the end of World War II. Round-trip fares from New York to San Francisco cost about $400. With the average annual family income less than $4,000, few could afford them except the very wealthy.

However, there were extra benefits not found today. There was no charge for checked luggage, and full-course meals and drinks were included. They were served by stewardesses who had college degrees in nursing.

There were no pre-boarding security lines that required shoes off, baggage searches and body searches.

However, not everything was better then. Instead of same-level walk-on ramps to the aircraft door, passengers had to hike up a steep flight of stairs to go aboard. Also, smoking was permitted, and chances of the guy next to you puffing on a cigar were high.

We took a fair and honest poll. Well, not really. We asked some other seniors to list their favorite travel songs. Considering age and fading memories, we came up with this list of all-time faves. You may not agree, especially if you were born within the past half-century or so, but here’s the result.

1. Route 66 by Bobby Troup was a Nat King Cole smash hit in 1946.

It winds from Chicago to L.A.,
More than 2,000 miles all the way.
Get your kicks on Route 66...

The lyrics are slightly inaccurate, because the road actually
continues through L.A. to Santa Monica and the Pacific Ocean.

2. Come Fly With Me was recorded in 1958 by the great Frank Sinatra, and still broadly hints at the many thrills of air travel, such as:

Weather-wise it's such a cool, cool day.
You just say those words,
And we'll beat the birds
Down to Acapulco Bay...

3. I Left My Heart in San Francisco was first warbled by Tony Bennett in 1962, and he still sings it in almost every concert today. It is the official welcome song for City by the Golden Gate. Remember:

Those little cable cars
Climb halfway to the stars...

4. Just for you youngsters of age 50 or so, we’ll name the Beatles’ Drive My Car as a favorite. The 1966 recording as part of the Fab Four’s Rubber Soul album became an all-time hit. The lyrics make little sense, but not much does when you’re stuck in traffic on the Hollywood Freeway.

5. Peter, Paul and Mary sang Leavin’ on a Jet Plane in 1967. Previously recorded by writer/singer John Denver, the lyrics are the opposite of Sinatra’s happily enticing words. It’s about the sadness of flying away from a loved one. At the time, they didn’t know what unhappiness lay ahead. There were no ATF searchy feely lines, 10-hour tarmac delays, sliding airplane seats, grossly inflated prices or other flying unpleasantness to come.

Of course, many great travel songs have been written and performed since this list of old fogey favorites. However, we couldn’t print the unreadable, often uncomfortable, lyrics here.