Petrified Forest National Park

Saturday, April 27, 2024

Today, we returned to Petrified Forest National Park. On the way out of Holbrook, we stopped at an interesting shop, Jim Gray’s Petrified Wood Co. The store’s surrounding grounds were covered with large logs and chunks of petrified wood. We were amazed at the wares for sale inside, beautiful slabs of polished petrified wood of various sizes, shapes and color alongside wonderful rocks and fossils. Some of the petrified wood had been converted into beautiful furniture, tables and benches. We learned that the petrified wood here was mined from private land for which the store had purchased the rights.

Petrified Wood Store near Holbrook

Store Interior

Outside Samples

We proceeded on to the southern entrance of the park to travel through it in the opposite direction from yesterday. Just before the national property began, on either side of the road, were two stores selling petrified wood, smaller versions of the one in Holbrook, and in fact, we later realized that these shops are common in this area. We stopped in one to use the restroom (which had yellow “petrified” water) and upon departing Jane received a free small piece of petrified wood.

After passing through the park gates, our first stop was the Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center. We walked through the museum (and gift shop) where fossils of creatures that lived in this area over 200 million years ago were on display. Behind the center was a trail where we hiked  a 0.5-mile loop in strong winds with petrified logs strewn across the landscape. We were taken aback by the size of the area and number of logs. 

Rainbow Forest Museum and Visitor Center

Museum Fossils

Logs from a Petrified Tree

More Petrified Logs

More Petrifieds

After sufficient gawking on the Visitor Center trail, we crossed the road and walked a two-mile loop to the Agate House. It was overcast and very windy as we proceeded through some fascinating terrain. The Painted Desert mesas in the background were beautiful and a high density of petrified logs were strewn across fields surounding us. The Agate House was a 1930s reconstruction of an eight-room pueblo that is believed to have been constructed entirely of petrified wood. The trek was certainly rewarding but we were thankful to be sheltered from the wind as we climbed back into the car. 

Painted Desert with Plentiful Petrified Wood

The Agate House

View from the Agate House

We continued driving north on the main park road and parked at the Crystal Forest trailhead. Now, in addition to gusty winds, a light rain started that continued off and on throughout the rest of the day. During this 0.75-mile hike, the rain let up and we were able to observe beautiful vistas with lots of petrified wood. Here, the ground strata was white and many of the petrified logs displayed white quartz that contained less of the impurities that impart other colors. The sights here were quite different but equally amazing to the ones we had previously seen.

Petrified Tree at the Crystal Forest

Crystal Forest Vista with Logs

Petrified Tree along the Trail

We continued our northerly drive, turned off the main road, and began driving the 3.5-mile Blue Mesa loop. We stopped several places along the way to enjoy the awesome views before parking at the trailhead. We then embarked on a most memorable spectactular one-mile loop hike. We descended steeply into a flat valley surrounded by fairy-tale like Painted Desert formations with pertrified wood fragments laying about. The canyon walls were composed of beautiful multi-colored strata that had been eroded into series of conical peaks. Walking in the canyon along the paved trail while winding among formations and petrified wood felt like visiting another planet. We were also protected from the winds and the skies temporarily blued-up adding to the hike’s magic. It was hard leaving this enchanting valley and the steep climb out made it even more difficult.

View along the Blue Mesa Drive

Indian Paintbrushes were Flowering along the Drive

——————— Blue Mesa Hike —————

Continuing our drive north, we passed the Tepees, conical formations similiar to those we saw at Blue Mesa, and pulled into a parking area for Newspaper Rock. We had to view this petroglyph-covered rock from an overlook using our cameras’ zoom lenses. The rock dispalyed more that 650 petroglyphs that were up to 2,000-years-old. 

Young Pronghorn

“Tepee”

Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock

More Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock

From Newspaper Rock, we drove to Puerco Pueblo where we were able to (finally) find restrooms before walking the short 0.3-mile trail there. On the Puerco Pueblo hike we observed remnants of ancient pueblos built around a rectangular plaza. Again, we saw numerous petroglyphs on the surrounding rocks. 

Pueblo Remnants

Petroglyph at Puerco Pueblo

Former Park Restroom Building

Next, we stopped at a pullout from the main park road that overlooked Route 66, The Mother Road, and the rusted remains of an old Packard from the heyday of America’s Main Street. 

Old Parkard along Route 66

Packard Bumper

Our final park stop was the Painted Desert Inn that hosted Route 66 travelers and was built in Pueblo Revival style in the early 20th century.We enjoyed walking through the inn, conversing with the ranger there, and gazing at the amazing views of the Painted Desert in the rear.

Painted Desert Inn

Inside the Inn

Painted Desert Inn Cafe & Fountain

View of the Painted Desert from behind the Inn

We then drove back to our campsite to wash up and relax awhile before heading back into Holbrook. Before departing, we chatted with our neighbor who had witnessed yesterday’s mishap and provided us with his name and phone number. Then, we drove to the Dollar General for a few supplies before heading to Bienvenidos Restaurant. We had local beers (IPA for Jane and a cherry porter for me) and a delicous supper there (shrimp ceviche for Jane and shrimp fajitas for me). We stuffed ourselves but still had plenty of leftovers to take back to the RV. I was exhausted from the day’s most satisfying sightseeing and almost immediately headed to bed. 

Refreshments at Bienvenidos Restaurant

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