We have seen some petrified logs in Wyoming and Craters of the Moon. However this promised to be more impressive – it had Petrified and Forest in the name.
We suspected this park would be different when we checked out their web page. The first page gives you instructions on how to get there so that you are not wasting time.
Since we were heading east, we got off at Exit 285 from I-40. We past several places selling petrified wood which made us think there must be a lot of it out there.
And when got to the visitors it was obvious there was.
The ranger asked us how long we had to see the park. When we said 3 or 4 hours she said “perfect you can see everything. That confirmed our suspicions that this is a drive by park.
After completing the hie at the visitors center, our next stop was the Crystal Forest where there was some impressive logs.
If you look really close you can see Mr Ram standing at the other end of the petrified tree.
I will say I was a little disappointed. When I first heard of a petrified forest many years ago, I imagined all of the trees were standing. None of the trees here was upright.
One thing to note here is that all of the “trails” are paved. Mrs Ram’s knees and legs hate paved trails. So after two short “trails” she was done “hiking”.
They listed petroglyphs as a feature but you were way above them and needed binoculars or a telephoto lens to see them. There are better places to see petroglyphs.
We drove through to the northern end of the park and passed the the monument to old route 66.
After a quick stops to see the Blue Mesa and the Painted Desert, we were back on I-40 in no time heading east.
If you are driving though on I-40, its worth seeing the petrified trees. I would suggest skipping the rest.