Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, Arizona

Even though we had visiting the Petrified Forest on our list before the trip started, we weren’t sure what to expect from it.  Not having high expectations, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the Painted Desert was right next door, and that we could visit them both on the same drive.

 

We started at the Painted Desert, which proved to be an accurate name. The dominant color scheme was red, running the gamut in shades between the lightest cream layers to the dark crimson ones. The red soil was a nice contrast to the dark green desert plants and mostly yellow or white blooms. The road runs along the hilltops, so we stopped at a few overlooks, then made our way to the Petrified Forest.

A section of Route 66 runs between the parks, with this car marking the road.

 

At first, the petrified logs were sparse, but we finally came to a part of the park where there were a number of downed trees. Some had the bark still attached, looking much like living bark, and many had formed with brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. In one wash were thousands of smaller fragments that from a distance looked like the swirled result of a paint truck accident.

Petrified wood fragments

All in all, it was an easy place to spend half a day, and worth the trip.