We left Santa Fe by 7:30am and headed to the Petrified Forest National Park. Michael’s grandfather had been to the Petrified Forest in the 1970’s when they were contemplating retirement in Arizona. He brought back a sample of a petrified tree which Michael has always been enthralled with. Unfortunately the southern end of the park where the best petrified trees are, as well as the ‘crystal cabin’, was inaccessible from the north end due to road work. But not to worry, there were still plenty of amazing sites to see.
We arrived around noon, and after a bowl of soup at the café we headed into the park. We stopped at several ‘look out’ points including the old Route66 car and an ancient ruins village, again from around the mid 13th century (~1250). The village would have housed about 200 people with up to 100 rooms all built in a square. The central area would have been secure and there were many hieroglyphs of their art.
The highlight of the park however was the Blue Mesa trail. We took a short hike through the valley full of fallen petrified trees and amazing views of the stratified hills. The layers were formed over millions of years, each varying in colour based on temperature and the chemical makeup of the rocks. The blue layer is the oldest. As layers erode, the petrified trees become exposed. They are extremely dense and heavy and hard, so it is interesting how they break, or don’t break and often form bridges.
We planned to stay at the nearest town of Holbrook to allow for Michael to get photos’ during the twilight hours. But alas, the park closes at 5pm so although the lighting was fine around 4:30, we were not able to stay for the ‘blue hour’.
Dinner this evening was a mediocre, costly event. We headed to an Italian spot in Holbrook where the food was sub par quality and portion (which was fine!). Dinner ended with an under calculated bill, which I pointed out to the waitress. With little acknowledgement of my generosity, she supplied me with a black pen which proceeded to leak all over the folder for the bills and subsequently my hands.
Not to worry – the next day would bring the Grand Canyon and should be good weather again – was up to 10C today!
