Route 66 - Petrified Forest National Park

Entrance to the park

Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona actually consists of 2 separate areas, the Painted Desert region which contains the north entrance to the Petrified Forest National Park and the National Park itself, which lies to the south. A 28-mile park road provides overlooks and parking areas for access to trails and picnic areas. There is a very early dirt road version of Route 66 which cuts through a corner of the Painted Desert region, but you cannot drive it.

Park's Visitor Center

The story of the petrified remains of trees that are millions of years old started when logs in the area were washed into the low-lying swamp that used to cover this region. As volcanoes to the west spewed tons of ash into the area, the logs were buried in the sediment. Then, water passing over the buried logs caused the silica in the ash to dissolve into the logs which replaced the cell walls and crystallized into mineral quartz. Minerals rich in iron combined with the quartz to produce the brilliant colors we see today.

An early layout of Route 66 went through the park

A much better story though comes from the Indians. According to them, a goddess was tired and hungry as she walked through the area. She killed a rabbit and attempted to build a fire with the logs that were lying on the ground, but the logs were soaked and would not ignite. In her anger, the Goddess turned the logs to stone.

Plan to spend at least a couple of hours driving through the park, another hour or more for the visitor centers,  and then another 30 minutes or more driving west on Hwy 180 at the southern end of the park to return to I-40.

Painted Desert portion of the park

The park turned an old car grill into a wonderful piece of
functional art - a bench for taking a break!

A very old auto carcass along the old Route 66 thru the park

Just a few of the many, many petrified logs in the park

Check out the full write-up on our sister site - www.1Dustytrack.blogspot.com.