At over 220,000 acres, Petrified Forest National Park is one of the best places to see fossils from the Late Triassic Period - remnants of prehistoric forests that are now petrified wood. But there is so much more to see and explore here. There is one road through the park - a 28 mile meander through what looks like another world, a foreign landscape of painted desert, grasslands, Native American ruins, and the “forests” of petrified wood. It was stunning.
When one first enters the park on the northern edge there are many pull outs to enjoy the vistas of the painted desert. Sprawling out in front of you - and below - it is difficult to get a sense of scale and distance. The colors pop and I’m sure that, depending on the light/ time of day it becomes a never ending changing canvas of colors.
Heading south you pass through sprawling grasslands eventually coming upon Puerco Pueblo. These archeological ruins are the ancestral home of native people who lived and thrived here between 1250 and 1380 CE. Both at this site and at another in the park there are over 650 petroglyphs! Tim and I kept coming back to the history we have witnessed over the past week ….. we are neither the first, nor the last. We share this world - whatever your world is - with a past. And that past is history that needs to be acknowledged.
From there you drive through another painted desert - The Blue Mesa - however this one is mostly blues and purples! There is a beautiful 1 mile trail down into the badlands and you begin to see the colorful remnants of the petrified wood that is the namesake of the park.
At two other stops along the route - Jasper Forest and Crystal Forest - there are the greatest concentrations of petrified wood. In Crystal Forest there is another 1 mile loop trail that takes you among a “forest” of these specimens.
So how did these trees become petrified- basically turning them into rocks? First a bit of history- 225 million years ago this area of the SW was a tropical landscape with abundant vegetation and giant conifer trees that reached 180 feet. When those huge trees fell along the banks of the many rivers it was buried under sand and mud. This deep burial seals it away from oxygen and bacteria preventing decay. Eventually, silica from volcanic ash in the groundwater infiltrates the tree replacing the organic matter with quartz….. hence, petrified. Different minerals in the water create a rainbow of colors that can be seen in many of the pieces. These petrified specimens are stunningly beautiful- from tiny shards to massive trunks that are strewn across the landscape.
It was a very full day! We slept well that night- lulled to sleep by the sound of trains passing in the distance. It is a sound that we both love…..
When I awoke there was a dense, cold fog laying over us. As I looked out the window all I could see was the headlight of the train in the distance, coming our way.
Heading westward.
Happy Campers! Yes. And that scenery.
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