Petrified Forest

Posted on October 9, 2007 in Photos Vacation Fall 2007

Our stop at Walnut Canyon National Monument was brief. We walked the Rim Trail where I spied a fine patch of paintbrush. We reserved the day for Petrified Forest National Park but a pack of thickening [[Cumulus_cloud|cumuli]] brought the makings of a storm.

We began our visit by driving past our turnoff and heading about eighteen miles towards the town of Snowflake, high on the plains of eastern Arizona. When the park road did not materialize, I pulled out a map, realized my error, and reversed our course until we found the large petrified wood yard that had distracted me from seeing the brown sign pointing to the park. The entrance was flanked by a pair of tacky souvenir stores and “museums” that we paid the briefest of visits as the first drops of rain came down. I announced to Lynn that we were abandoning our plans to walk the Long Logs and Agate House trails — I wasn’t going to get caught in the downpour which actually did come later.

The park describes itself as two parks: the fossilized trees in the south and the [[Painted_Desert%2C_Arizona|Painted Desert]] in the north. Or to put it another way: heaps of colorful, crystalline stone versus vivid mudpiles. I got down on my hands and knees to enjoy the silicates, lying on my side to get the best closeups. The NPS thoughtfully provided paved paths through Giant Logs and the Crystal Forest, so I did not muddy myself.

The insensitivity of tourists never ceases to amaze me. At Agate Bridge, a troupe of Australians ignored warning signs and went for a gander on the wet mud, leaving their footprints behind. I nearly remarked that it was a lot easier to disobey the rules when it is not your own country’s heritage being trashed but my mood stabilizers were working and I held my tongue.

Far more tolerable were the Filipinos who we met at Newspaper Rock. I set up my telephoto lens so I could get decent views of the petroglyphs from which the Park Service kept us by means of steep cliffs. I helped them find the chippings and let them look through my camera so they could find the hard to see outline of [[Kokopelli]]. We kept following them and they kept following us for the rest of the afternoon, exchanging quips at every stop and smiling broadly.

Here is the album in my gallery (30 pics).

Click on more to see important notes.

---

Please do not leave comments on the blog. Follow the instructions below for registering and commenting at the main site.

To get the best view, click on the image on the individual page.

Here are my latest uploads.

Here are the highest rated photos on the site. You can rate any photo without registering. Look for the bar of stars beneath the photo and its descriptive information. Please rate your dislikes as well as your likes.

Here is where you register. When you register, you can comment. I love comments and even talk back.