Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert

I left Flagstaff Saturday morning and headed east toward Santa Fe. Along the way, I stopped at Petrified Forest National Park, which also took me through Painted Desert. I don't know what I was expecting at Petrified Forest. Actually, I guess I was expecting some sort of forest with tall trees and whatnot. Not exactly.

The Petrified "forest" showcases the petrified wood which lies throughout the region. About a half billion years ago, this area was under water. When trees were felled into the water, minerals and silica were absorbed into the tree fibers, and eventually turned the trees into quartz.



Aside from the trees, there were some pretty amazing rock formation. They're striated due to the layering of silt and other things . Really stunning.

Then there is Painted Desert, which is astounding. I'd turn a corner, and literally gasp at the spectacle.

I posted a lot of photos online. You don't need to sign into see them, so please do check them out. Click here to see them. It was an unusually cloudy day; imagine how pretty this is in full sunshine with blue sky.