Petrified Forest National Park

Originally, the Petrified Forest National Park wasn’t on our list to visit. But, because of the loose itinerary that we had, we managed to squeeze in a visit. There were some things in the park worth seeing. But, we both came to the conclusion that our time might have been better spent at some other attraction.

We began the drive down Highway 180 to the park’s south entrance. The reason we drove 19 miles to the south entrance was because it was actually more efficient than taking the north entrance, which is off of Interstate 40. The distance between the north and south entrances is 28 miles. If one enters at the north entrance, tours the entire park, and wants to end up on Interstate 40, then one has to either backtrack the 28 miles through the park or exit the south entrance, drive 19 miles to Holbrook, and drive east 26 miles on Interstate 40 to return to the north entrance. If it sounds like a pain, it is. Trust me when I say that one needs to make the trip to the south entrance if one is traveling (and plans to continue) traveling east on Interstate 40.

We paid our $10 entrance fee at the gate. It wasn’t too long before we got to the first main attraction within the park: the Long Logs trail. This trail displays the largest collection of petrified wood within the park. I wasn’t looking forward to walking on a trail with my mangled feet, but it turned out to be a very easy half mile walk. However, it was rather hot. There is no shade on any of the trails or at any of the vistas. We were there on a 90 degree day, and it was rather uncomfortable. I would definitely not want to be there when it is much warmer than what we experienced.

The Long Logs trail was fairly interesting at first, but it became boring. I know this statement will make me enemy number one of any Geologist, but if you’ve seen one piece of petrified wood, you’ve seen them all. Actually, that’s not an entirely true statement. There are variations in each piece of wood (different colors, different striations, etc.). But, to the casual observer like myself, there really isn’t much difference to note. So, it tends to get a little monotonous.

My feet felt good enough to attempt the .8 mile Agate House trail. This trail leads one to a small house made of petrified wood. It’s actually a re-creation of a Pueblo built by the Native Americans a few hundred years ago. The structure is rather unremarkable, except for the fact that it is made of petrified wood. I found the signs around the structure to be more interesting than the building itself. The Parks Service, in another fit of political correctness, states that the building was reconstructed under prior policy. In other words, they are saying that the unintelligent former Park Rangers were the ones that rebuilt this building and that they’d never do something like this now. I found it rather funny that the Park Service felt compelled to cover itself with this disclaimer.

After finishing the Agate House trail, we drove to the Crystal Forest. But, my feet were hurting again, so we left without walking through it. Instead, we continued driving through the park. To be honest, the landscape was more interesting than the wood. This was particularly true of The Tepees. The Tepees are pyramid shaped ash mounds that dot the landscape near the middle of the park. They are noted because red, white, and brown pigments in the soil give them a multicolored appearance. We stopped for a while at the base of one of them to admire their beauty.

The Tepees are an excellent precursor to the beauty of the Painted Desert, which exists further north in the park. However, before reaching the Painted Desert, one gets the opportunity to explore some superb Indian petroglyphs. These petroglyphs are located at the Puerco Pueblo, which is a ruined Indian dwelling about 3 miles north of The Tepees. There isn’t much left of the pueblo itself, but the petroglyphs are still vivid. I’m always amazed when I see writing or art that has survived for hundreds of years. It makes me feel something of a connection with the person who created it. I felt the same thing staring at the petroglyphs at Pureco Pueblo. They were definitely the highlight of our time in the park.

A close second to the petroglyphs were the vistas overlooking the Painted Desert. As I mentioned before, the Painted Desert is a series of hills and valleys which are made of the pigmented dirt that can be found in other areas of the park. The power of these vistas lies in the scope of the landscape. It seems like the multicolored hills stretch on forever. We didn’t stay long enough to experience this facet of the Painted Desert, but I’d imagine that it changes colors during the day in the same way that the Grand Canyon did. Even if one doesn’t have all day to watch the changes, it is still worth spending a little time looking at the Painted Desert’s beauty from any of the eight vista points on the road.

As we were leaving the park, the ranger stopped us at the gate. He asked us, “Do you have any petrified wood?” I thought it was a ridiculous question. There are numerous signs throughout the park and in the park’s pamphlet stating that removing any piece of petrified wood (no matter how small) is punishable by at least a $275 fine. So, if anyone actually took a piece of wood, would they answer truthfully to the ranger’s question? I’m sure that it was an example of a lawyer urging the Park Service that this was the way to catch criminals. Still, it seemed humorous.

Overall, the park was moderately interesting. The desert landscape, particularly the multicolored hills, was interesting to observe. And the petroglyphs were fascinating. But, I don’t feel as though I would’ve missed it had we not stopped there. There’s not much there that can’t be seen in other parts of the Southwest. It’s not a waste of time to enjoy the Petrified Forest National Park, but there are better things to see in the Southwest.

The park is open everyday except Christmas. The minimum opening hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are extended hours in the summer. As mentioned before, there is a $10 fee to enter the park. This fee is good for a seven day period after the payment, so one can visit as many times as they want within those seven days without paying again.

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