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| The Petrified Forest National Park, 23 miles from where we are staying at Holbrook, AZ is one of the largest petrified wood deposits in the world.....our first stop is at the visitors centre and the 1/4 mile walk past incredible petrified wood of all shapes and sizes.....we have to admit to not knowing a lot about petrified wood before this visit.... |
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| 200 million years ago this area was a steamy, swampy, equatorial climate....the trees fell and a mix of salt, mud and volcanic ash buried the logs, the sediment cut off the oxygen and slowed the logs decay, then silica laden groundwater seeped through the logs replacing the original wood tissues with silica and petrifying the logs.....it's really amazing you have to touch them they look like wood but are rock.... |
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| Next stop is The Long Logs Trail a 1.6 mile loop trail through one of the largest concentrations of petrified logs in the park.... |
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| Yorkieman admiring the view and the solitude, the Japanese were all back at the gift shop !... |
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| It's incredible and hard to believe that they have not been cut up by a chainsaw !! Water seeped into cracks, froze then expanded causing it to look like this.... The Park Service is trying desperately to stop visitors from stealing the rocks from the park....... |
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| Next stop on the 28 mile drive through the park was Blue Mesa...part of the vast Painted Desert and amazing.... |
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| We sat on the wall at the parking area eating our sandwiches looking at this spectacular view of The Blue Mesa and the vast valley.... |
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| Highlight of the day a 2 mile trail at Blue Mesa it descends down a steep path to loop through petrified wood deposits and badlands hills of bluish bentonite clay....it was awesome.... |
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| More solitude.......the silence was total...well apart from me prattling on....seriously it was incredibly quiet... |
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| Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks & clay rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind & weather........ |
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| More photos to fill our walls back in Blighty.... |
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| We had seen a small portion of the Painted Desert when driving up from Flagstaff to Page a few weeks ago and hadn't realised it was so vast....... |
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| Driving on from this stunning landscape Yorkieman hit the nail on the head when he said " being in the Parks on our travels brings us such joy and contentment"..... |
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| Historic Route 66...the roadbed and the telegraph poles mark the path of the famous Main Street of America as it passed through the Petrified Forest & Painted Desert National Parks.... |
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| More painted desert, we also saw a large collection of petroglyphs and Puerco Pueblo ruins.... |
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| Last stop on today's trip just before exiting the park.....The Painted Desert Inn, now a museum but once a famous inn and landmark on Historic Route 66.....we had a great chat with the ranger on duty about the building and the changes it underwent from a small hostel made of native stone and petrified wood in 1926 to a thriving Inn in the late 1940s/50s.....It was made an Historic Landmark in 1987 and has since been renovated "modernising" some of the structural elements.... We have had another amazing day doing what we love....we move farther west tomorrow on I-40 to Seligman AZ, another town on Historic Rte 66...... |
Hi Both,
ReplyDeleteYou may not have known much about petrified wood before your visit, well you sure do know, and so do I .Thanks for once again expanding my intellect (Jim will not know what's hit him when we next meet up)
The days adventure looks great, and what a super view for you to enjoy your sandwiches at.
Pity The Painted Dessert Inn does not serve drinks anymore it would have been the perfect end to your day, oh sorry I forgot you are driving.
Well that seems like a cue for me to have a Guinness.
Cheers,
Ann & Dave
We are expanding our minds....time will tell if any of it stuck !!!
DeleteYes was a shame about no beer at the inn it would have been perfect but as you say there was a truck to drive.......
We're sure you enjoyed your Guinness, we do hope though that you pour Ann a glass of wine at the same time....
Cheers from a lovely warm Nevada.....