What a Wonderful World (An #AtoZChallenge Post): P is for Petrified Forest National Park

 

"Petrified Forest National Park" states the sign in the parking lot of the visitor's center

My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures--some pre-retirement, some post. Today's location: Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.

The name of Petrified Forest National Park gives away its main attraction: the acres upon acres of fossilized logs, remnants of an ancient forest. From the visitor's center, a short trail leads guests on a path to some of the biggest trees. One of the logs has been named "Old Faithful," because it is to Petrified National Park what the Old Faithful geyser is to Yellowstone National Park. Albert Einstein and his wife had their photo taken in front of the petrified Old Faithful in 1931, and the park encourages visitors now to snap a selfie at the same location.

My husband John and I stand in front of the 35-foot-long "Old Faithful," a petrified log 

While the saying goes, "You can't see the forest for the trees," in the case of the Petrified Forest, you don't want to get so caught up in seeing the forest of scattered petrified logs that you miss examining an individual tree up-close. The colors that can be found in just one log are beautifully varied.

The cut edge of a fallen log shows red, browns white, blacks and even yellow patches of color 

The National Park app has a free audio tour of the drive through Petrified Forest National Park. We enjoyed listening to the commentary as we made our way through the park. One of the early stops was to see the natural bridge, a petrified log that had fallen across a gully. Years ago, apparently someone rode a horse across it! Of course, now visitors just view it from a distance.

A log spans the distance over a gully, forming a natural bridge

Though the park was named for the petrified forest, other features in the park are also impressive and worthy of attention. The beautiful colorfully striped mesas are a geologist's dream.

An overlook provides a sweeping view of the mesa. Very even stripes of dark, medium, and light purple hues naturally paint the mesa. 

Other places in the park show petroglyphs, left by early inhabitants of the area. The photo below has some figures that resemble people, along with various other markings.

Foundations of buildings used by indigenous peoples are visible along another trail in the park.

Stones in lines form the foundations of buildings long since vanished

Not everything in the park is as old as the fossils, petroglyphs, or old settlements. Part of the old Route 66 passes through the park, and an old car sits there to commemorate the journey so many took. My own grandma moved from the Ozarks of Arkansas to the Central Valley of California by way of Route 66 in 1929. Seeing this old car made me think of my grandma's journey.

The shell of an old sedan sits in the desert along Route 66.

Petrified logs, beautiful mesas, petroglyphs, old civilizations, and even more recent history--Petrified Forest National Park has all that and more, too! 

Come back tomorrow to see where in the world we'll visit next!