A very belated visit to a fantastic Arizona national park that features some really cool petrified wood!
I seriously have no excuse for waiting almost three years to visit Petrified Forest National Park. It wasn’t until three weeks before moving to Maryland that I actually visited the park, which was stupid since the park was only three hours away. Oh, well. I finally made it and I had a blast.
Named for its famous petrified wood deposits, Petrified Forest National Park also has the beautiful Painted Desert, blue tinted badlands and Native American ruins and petroglyphs. It’s a very diverse park, much more diverse than what the park’s name implies.
I entered the park at the North Entrance near the Painted Desert.
Tawa Point, overlooking the Painted Desert.
I love all the little erosion-created mesas.
The Painted Desert Inn was built by the CCC between 1937-1940 and was operated as a Harvey House from 1947 to 1963. It only operated as an actual in until 1947.
The view from Kachina Point, located behind the Painted Desert Inn.
Nizhoni Point. Very colorful.
Petrified Forest is the only national park to preserve a portion of the original alignment of Route 66 (which was later replaced by I-40). To commemorate that, there’s an old car.
Puerco Pueblo was once the home of Ancestral Puebloans who farmed the floodplain of the Puerco River. They lived here between 1250 and 1380.
They left petroglyphs near the pueblo.
Nearby is Newspaper Rock, which is covered with more than 650 petroglyphs carved between 650 and 1,000 years ago.
The Tepees, a perfect name for an awesome geologic feature.
Now for the badlands around Blue Mesa. The area has a very distinct blue tinge.
Petrified wood has started to make an appearance.
A really pretty and unique area of the Painted Desert.
Now for the Blue Mesa Trail, which leaves the mesa and goes down a steep hill down into a valley.
A blue/lavender colored valley.
Looking a bit otherworldly.
The rock layers create interesting effects.
Such interesting colors here.
Now for the petrified wood that Petrified Forest National Park is named for. How does one create petrified wood? During the Late Triassic, downed trees accumulated in river channels which were routinely covered by volcanic ash. Silica from the ash, combined with the ground water, got into the logs, formed quartz crystals, replacing the organic material. Other minerals, such as iron oxide, also seeped into the logs giving them interesting colors. Most of the trees that have been preserved are now extinct conifers.
The Crystal Forest Trail, located in the southern part of the park, features a ton of petrified wood.
Like I said, a ton.
Some are still in a tree like rows!
I love how much of the bark’s texture remains!
A close up of a very shiny and pretty interior of a piece of petrified forest.
A lot of the petrified wood here is very reddish, probably from some iron oxide.
Lots of petrified wood can be found in washes.
These still look like wood.
Another wash full of petrified wood.
A pile of petrified wood.
Behind the the Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center is the Giant Logs Trail which features even more giant petrified wood.
The petrified wood here is extremely red on this trail.
The sun really brings out that red color.
Also from that Visitor Center’s parking lot is the trail for Long Logs and Agate House. The trail at first follows an old road. You can still see the old trailhead parking lot, complete with disabled parking spot. I didn’t have the energy for Long Logs, so only went to Agate House.
Agate House in the distance.
Agate House was constructed using the easily available petrified wood laying around the area. The eight-room pueblo was occupied from 900-1200 and reconstructed by the CCC.
Looking into a window that may not have existed. Pueblos tended to only have access from the roof.
Petrified Forest National Park was a long-delayed visit I should not have delayed. The park has much of my favorite things, including pretty views, easy trails, ruins, and petroglyphs. Petrified Forest is super easy to reach as it’s located right on Interstate-40, which crosses most of the United States.
Check out my next update where I visit some more Native American ruins and a giant crater!
or
Check out more places in Arizona!
Great Post!