Petrified Forest

This afternoon we toured the small but mighty Petrified Forest National Park.  For an area that is only 26 miles from one end to the other, this park has a lot to offer.

The southern part of the area is known for its petrified logs.  These logs were once trees that were buried in sediment and protected from decay.  Over many years, water seeped through the ground and slowly replaced organic material in the tree with various gems and minerals.  Essentially the trees became fossils.  It's uncanny how these fossils look like trees but feel like stone.

Lots of dinosaur bones have also been found in the park, and there is a great little museum highlighting some of the finds near the south entrance.

Further along the road you can find the remains of some pueblos built by local Native Americans.  They left behind a treasure trove of petroglyphs in an area known as Newspaper Rock.  This set of stones contains over 650 petroglyphs created over 2000 years.

The northern part of the park focuses on the painted desert.  Such a beautiful area!

We are spending the night in Holbrook, a western town whose heyday peaked in the 1950s.  It's hard not to imagine how different tourism was back in the glory days of Rte 66.  In fact this area was one of three that was featured in the movie Cars.  It was super cool to drive through town to find a hotel and several antique cars that played a role in the movie.

In the words of Mater (from aforementioned Cars):  "I tell you what buddy, it just don't get better than this!"