Petrified Forest

I am pictured here with one of the Park Rangers from the Petrified Forest.

A close-up of some petrified wood. They have the most beautiful colors.

Here I am with some petrified wood.

This is why they call it the Painted Desert!

Saturday, Feb 3, Left Williams, AZ. Drove east to New Mexico. Just before the border, we entered the Petrified Forest National Park. It was 4:30. The park was closing at 5:00, but they allow you to stay in the park as long as you are “headed toward” an exit. We had time to walk one of the paths to see the petrified wood up close. We entered the park at the south end and drove the 26 miles to the north entrance at the Painted Desert, reaching the Painted Desert portion of the park just as the sun was setting. The colors were amazing. I had always thought that the Painted Desert portion and the Petrified Forest were completely separate, however, upon closer look, we found that the Painted Desert was also littered with huge logs of petrified wood. We arrived in Gallup, New Mexico and stayed overnight at an RV park on New Mexico's old Route 66.