PETRIFIED FOREST

Okay, so I feel like this place is a hidden gem, or at least it was to us. Neither of us had ever heard of the Petrified National Park until we were driving down I-40W and saw a sign. We quickly made the decision to pull off, and we’re so glad we did.

 This is a fun park to spend a day at. The park itself is 28 miles to drive through it and is full of short, beautiful hikes. The road is nicely paved throughout, and the trails that we hiked on are paved as well. We were there during the spring, and the wind was spectacular. Honestly, just walking we felt like we could get blown over, ha ha! We asked and as it turns out, these strong winds are normal for Arizona in the spring.

The Petrified National Park got its name from the petrified wood that can be found there. As the visitor center tells it it is one of the best places in the world to see the fossil record from the Late Triassic Period. There are remnants of prehistoric forests, now petrified wood, as well as plant and animal fossils. The wood is so amazing to look at, it literally looks like crystals inside of a wooden shell. In the late 1800s petrified wood became high in demand. Luckily for us, in 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation making the Petrified Forest National Monument. However, the wood is not the only cool thing about this park. The landscape is beautiful! We were seriously stunned by the beautiful colors of the hills on the Blue Mesa hike. I felt like I couldn’t take enough pictures.

If you’re traveling through the area, or happen to be on a Route 66 road trip, make this National Park a stop!