Exploring the Petrified Forest
On my solo road trip to Arizona a couple weeks ago I made a stop at the Petrified Forest National Park. I can remember going there as a kid and all I can recall is that it was cold and windy. We took our kids there many years ago (before Jillian was born), but it was a drive by visit so I don't recall much about that either.
This is the Painted Desert Inn which is now a national landmark. As I understand it, this building was originally constructed with petrified wood. It's almost 100 years old and was used to as lodging for park visitors. In the 1940s it became a Harvey House to serve food and beverage to visitors. It closed in the 1970s and was scheduled for demolition, but the public protested and it became a national historic landmark in 1987. Today, it serves as a park museum.
Of course no trip is complete without a stop at the long logs. Irv tells me he and his family used to climb on these when they visited as kids. Why am I not surprised? Luckily they are protected now for future generations.
Again, the chunks looked like someone had taken a chainsaw to them.
I planned to stay in the park for 2 hours, but I was actually there 3 1/2 hours and could have stayed longer. I love exploring! This park is a must see, but probably not with kids because they don't really appreciate the history and beauty. (Dana told me that our visit there when she was a kid was extremely boring.)
As I've gotten older I've grown to appreciate more things like this and without Irv along I knew I could explore the park in-depth.
I stopped at every point of interest in the park except for a couple spots when time was running out near the end of my visit. The Painted Desert surrounds the park and it is uniquely beautiful.
This is the Painted Desert Inn which is now a national landmark. As I understand it, this building was originally constructed with petrified wood. It's almost 100 years old and was used to as lodging for park visitors. In the 1940s it became a Harvey House to serve food and beverage to visitors. It closed in the 1970s and was scheduled for demolition, but the public protested and it became a national historic landmark in 1987. Today, it serves as a park museum.
The Puerco Pueblo still has remnants of another civilization.
And hieroglyphics on the rocks. I love this kind of history--imagining those who lived here many years ago and what their life must have been like.
I won't bore you with the many shots I took, but my favorite stop was Blue Mesa.
When I stopped at the Visitor Center the volunteer told me this was a must see as long as I was up for a hike. The path starts at the parking lot and goes down, down, down into this amazing canyon.
I love the colors!
The trail makes a large loop is is about 1.3 miles long.
Many of the ravines were lined with petrified wood. It looks like someone came along and cut a tree into slices with a chainsaw. I find it very interesting how the wood ended up like this.
In some areas it was just laying on the ground. I was told that this wood existed before the dinosaurs.
You know what happens when you climb down, down, down? Yep, you have to climb back up to get out.
I stopped at the Crystal and Jasper Forests.
Of course no trip is complete without a stop at the long logs. Irv tells me he and his family used to climb on these when they visited as kids. Why am I not surprised? Luckily they are protected now for future generations.
Again, the chunks looked like someone had taken a chainsaw to them.
I planned to stay in the park for 2 hours, but I was actually there 3 1/2 hours and could have stayed longer. I love exploring! This park is a must see, but probably not with kids because they don't really appreciate the history and beauty. (Dana told me that our visit there when she was a kid was extremely boring.)
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