Several days ago we explored Petrified Forest National Park. As I write this I am toasty warm in the home of our wonderfully hospitable Colorado friends, my belly full of leftovers from a really great Mexican restaurant in Santa Fe and I can't come up with a whole lot of wordiness for this post. So I will just share the photos and my brief ramblings.
First of all, don't steal pieces of petrified wood! For one, it's illegal -- don't take stuff from a national park. The preservation of nature is why they exist. An estimated one ton of petrified wood is illegally removed from the park each month. Crikey! Secondly, you can buy or even get free pieces from gift shops all around the area and it's not expensive ($4 will get you a dozen small pieces). And lastly, the visitor center has a huge binder full of letters from people who stole wood, suffered odd bouts of really bad fortune (everything from ant attacks to plane crashes) and returned it with their apologies and remorse.
While the wood is really cool, the colorful mounds of ash and minerals were my personal favorite part. Framed against a cobalt blue sky (thanks, polarizing filter!) they make for cool photos.
So if you're passing through this end of Arizona, make a day trip to see the Petrified Forest. And please leave the wood where it belongs.
-Jenni
-Jenni
