Petrified Forest National Park

I know that when most people think of the natural wonders in Arizona, they think of the Grand Canyon.  It's totally understandable because it is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, and let's face it, pretty incredible.

But for my money, the Petrified National Forest is just about as incredible.

It is not a land for everyone.  It has a stark, desolate, lonely kind of beauty.  There are no rides, no theatres, no big attractions.
There is a visitors' center with pictures, programs, fossils and a history of the place.
The park rangers that work there seem to truly love the place.  As do I.

You see all of these incredible "skeletons" of ancient trees that were once vibrant and living.  And then they were drowned under an ancient sea bed, their cells slowly filling with silt, mud, and volcanic ash until they hardened and became permanent reminders of a world long past.

There is human history in this land, dating back 2,000 years.  They ranged from nomadic families to settled agricultural villages, pueblos, and trading ties with neighboring villages. Then the story of the people that inhabited the land faded around 1400 AD.  All that remains are a few structures such as this log house, potsherds, rubble, and pictures on the rocks, petroglyphs.  Fascinating reminders of the people of the land. 

I like to think of this formation as an "Arizona Stonehenge"

Some stats:
The park is located in northeast Arizona and features one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood. Also included in the park's 93,533 acres are the multi-hued badlands of the Chinle Formation known as the Painted Desert, historic structures, archeological sites and displays of 225 million-year-old fossils.

The park is open year round except Christmas Day. Park hours are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, with longer hours during the summer. Hours may change, so please call before your arrival.

Activities include driving, sight-seeing, photography, walking, hiking and wilderness backpacking. A variety of interpretive programs are given, mostly in the summer. A list of programs is displayed in the visitor center and museums.

Ranger talks and tours are scheduled mostly during the summer months. With advanced notice the park has several programs for school groups. Call for additional information.

Sadly, it's estimated that over 1 ton of petrified wood walks out of the park each year. Collecting the wood is absolutely illegal and totally unnecessary. There are gift shops that sell petrified wood that comes from private land, outside the park. I've heard there are also areas outside the park, private land, where they let people "hunt" for the wood and purchase it.   Please resist the urge to pocket it, leave it for everyone else to enjoy.