Traveling from Las Cruces, NM to Bellingham, WA: Part I. Petrified Forest NP and the Painted Desert, Arizona

Las Cruces, NM to Bellingham, WA: Part I. Petrified Forest NP and the Painted Desert, Arizona

Our first stop on our journey north seeking cooler temps was the Petrified Forest NP located in the Painted Desert in Arizona.  It wasn't any cooler, but we spent a couple of days exploring the area. The colors and textures we witnessed from afar and close-up, when we hiked down onto the desert floor, were really spectacular which was only topped by seeing some local wildlife (I won't say anything more about that now, you'll just have to wait for the pics ;).

The national park didn't offer any camping, but we stayed in a nearby state park, Homolovi. It had partially excavated indigenous ruins that we were able to visit. One thing about a hot desert climate, it's great for preserving artifacts!

On to pics:

The name of this campground cracked me up. A throwback from the ‘70s. Haha. We stayed here on our way to the Petrified Forest.  

full moon at the Cosmic Campground 

Petrified Forest NP 

How does something that looks like a slice of a huge tree, a hunk of wood or a log end up in the middle of the desert? And why, if it looks like it's wood, is it actually made of stone??  🤔🧐 

Well, at one time, a long, long time ago, northeastern Arizona was close to the equator and had all sorts of trees and plants and rainfall. These ancient trees died, fell in rivers and were quickly covered by a thick layer of mud, sand and volcanic ash. (I skipped over the volcanic eruption that happened.) One of the things the oxygen in air causes is the decay of living (organic) matter. The thick layer of mud, sand and ash prevented oxygen from reaching the trees thereby preventing their decay. Ok, you say, but what about the rock part ???

I'm glad you asked. Groundwater loaded with minerals (mostly silica) from the volcanic ash circulated around the logs and caused permineralization, a process of filling the spaces within the wood's cells and pores with this heavily mineralized water, which eventually crystallized. Over millions of years all the organic matter is replaced with minerals like quartz and it is a replica of the original log. 

The permineralization and crystallization of the logs leaves them hard but brittle resulting in clean angle breaks at regular spacing. The geological forces of uplift and erosion have caused many such breaks. 

It isn't uncommon to find pieces that have these evenly spaced, flat surfaces, as if they had been cut with a chainsaw, especially when an entire log is preserved. It's just natural science being amazing yet again.

Some of the minerals make for stunning coloration of this “stone wood”.

This guy, an eastern collared lizard, was hanging out on one of the petrified logs, basking in the sun. He was particularly photogenic and cooperative!

A Brewer's Sparrow 

We found this guy as we pulled into a scenic overlook. A prairie rattlesnake that had met its demise under the tire of a vehicle.  I cropped out the gory part, but you could see the rattle and everything.  I had been traipsing all about, not really paying much attention to where I was walking because I was right next to the road and in highly traveled areas. Trust me when I say I started paying very close attention to where I was walking after that sighting!

This area is called the Blue Mesa and we had a nice little hike down amongst the formations. 

More petrified wood

The sun, getting low over the Painted Desert. 

Petroglyphs

The Painted Desert Inn

This landmark was an inn at one time, now it has tours, hosts educational and artists programs, regularly features indigenous artists and has a great park store. I was fascinated by its geometry, the shapes and colors and how it fits into the landscape. 

Stansbury's Cliffrose grew around the Inn and along the rim trail.

Pics from our hike down onto the valley floor and up into a little hidden gulch on the other side.

You can just make out the trail down at the bottom of the valley snaking through the colorful badland formations. 

Another pic as we made our way down to the valley floor.

Crossing the valley floor

More petrified wood - we found a lot on the valley floor and even more as we went up the little gulch.

We crossed a wash down at the bottom of the valley. I found the patterns the water left in the dirt and sand fascinating

On our way back out, so stunning 

And some sunset shots.

We had visitors at Homolovi state park What a cutie pie! ❤️

At the ancient pueblo sites there were shards of pottery all around. It was amazing to see them. Some people picked them up and placed the pieces they found on larger stones so others could see them.

And, of course,  while we were there, we had to go to the "corner in Winslow, Arizona" that the Eagles immortalized. 

Here's hoping you have a chance to “take it easy, take it easy” on whatever corner you happen to be on. 

Next stop: Las Cruces, NM to Bellingham, WA: Part II, Sedona, Hopi Mesa and Pueblo tour and Zion, NP.

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