We left the canyon Thursday after school and drove to Winslow for the night so we could get an early start the next morning. We arrived with enough light left so we could take the picture you are required to take when visiting Winslow. Standin’ on the corner of course. Winslow is about an hour drive from Petrified Forest National Park and we wanted to get there when it opened at 8 am. There is a 28 mile road through the park connecting Highway 180 and I-40 with entrances on either end. We entered through the southern entrance and drove north through the park to I-40 to continue on to Albuquerque.

Petrified Forest is a small park and many of the points of interest can be seen from the road or with a short walk, so it’s easy to have a really good visit in just half a day (it wouldn’t be hard to stretch this in to a full day with a longer hike, ranger program, or some backcountry exploration). Our visit started at the Rainbow Museum at the southern entrance where most of the petrified wood is concentrated. It’s a nice museum with various exhibits and a film about the park. After learning about the petrified forest (this part of Arizona was once near the equator and looked like present day Costa Rica - this is where the forest part comes from), we did the Giant Logs trail. This is a 0.4 mile loop behind the museum that is a good chance to see the petrified logs up close. Overall I was surprised at how many petrified logs there were in the park. We’ve always admired petrified wood at rock shows and it was neat to see it naturally.

We saw more petrified wood at Crystal Forest, a 0.75 mile loop named for the crystals that can be found in the petrified logs. Our next two stops were roadside attractions: Jasper Forest overlook and Agate Bridge. We were back on the trail again at Blue Mesa. This part of the park was unexpected and very cool. There is a one mile loop that winds through the badland hills of bluish bentonite clay and we really enjoyed this walk. We made quick stops at the Tee Pees, Newspaper Rock, and old Route 66 on our way to our final stop at the Painted Desert Inn. The inn has been restored and we loved the retro vibes, as well as the views of the Painted Desert. I couldn’t resist buying a beautiful bracelet from Alphonso, who was doing the cultural demonstration that day at the inn. We took a quick look in the Painted Desert visitor center, had lunch at the cafe, and then were on our way to Albuquerque (~ three hour drive).

Petrified Forest National Park isn’t as grand as some of the other national parks, but it is definitely worth a stop and we enjoyed our visit.