Arizona: Petrified Forest NP/Painted Desert

14 May 2022

Some days, you can economize on blog photos. Today was not one of those days. I’d done the road through Painted Desert/Petrified Forest with Andrew in 2014, but we were far from our destination and it was already later in the afternoon, so there were not as many photo opportunities at that time as there were today when we had the entire day JUST to do this! Many, MANY photos were taken even as we were hiking at mid-day when the colors of the landscape are most washed out. Even so, the scenery was pretty spectacular and I couldn’t help but take a ton of pictures. I will try to limit this post to 1-2 (3 at most!) of any one thing…with the possible exception of the 1932 Studebaker! Our highlight had to be the Blue Mesa trail that went down into the formations; around every corner there was another stunning and unusual photo!

I don’t have ONE single photo that stands out but I do like the photo of the painted desert from the back of the Painted Desert Inn…the other one was of the Studebaker, taken low to the ground…it’s here, but you have to troll through lots of other photos first!

The Painted Desert as seen through the frame of the pergola behind the Painted Desert Inn

Painted Desert Inn

Stansbury’s Cliffrose—in the rose family and native to the SW and northern Mexico

Blue Forest Trail into Blue Mesa

The 1-mile trail into the Blue Mesa had a 35 degree slope at the beginning that made it seem like it was much longer than one mile! Even with the incline, it was totally worth it.  The scenes were breathtaking and different around every bend. (Good thing I had a lot of memory for photos!)

Those are pieces of petrified wood tumbling down the brown slopes

A notch let in the view

Petroglyphs at Puerco Pueblo

Rocks outline the foundation of an ancient Puebloan home; many types of pottery shards were found in this area, so we know the people traded widely

Petroglyphs on the left rock at the Puerco Pueblo site

This was cool: the sun, aligned and shining through the slit in the rock on the left would illuminate the petroglyph of concentric circles on the rock on the right on only one day of the year: summer solstice. Cool, right?

Newspaper Rock

At first, when you are looking at what purportedly is Newspaper Rock, you don’t see all that much. Just a bunch of big rocks, not unlike what you’ve been seeing all day. Look closer, and the two rocks down below are FILLED with interesting petroglyphs, inspiration for someone who may or may not be carving stamps this December. Stay tuned.

The Teepees

They call them teepees because that is kind of what they’re shaped like. Duh.

Route 66 Alignment

This abandoned 1932 Studebaker is where the old Rt 66 used to bisect the national park. It’s just one more cool stop on the road through.

And, finally, the “wood” of the Petrified Forest

Last year, Dan was posing with huge coastal redwoods; this year, petrified wood. This was one BIG tree!

The colors were mesmerizing!

Thin leaf yucca, in bloom

We were camped in Holbrook, although not at the Wigwam Motel. Met some really nice fellow-travelers and shared our experiences with them. Good luck in Alaska, Virginians! Safe travels!

Goodbye Blue Mesa, Goodbye Arizona….

Tomorrow we head out to Santa Fe and a meetup with one of my adventurous friends who just returned from her trip to the Galapagos! Stay tuned!