![]() ![]() Unfortunately, many of the petrified trees have been removed and continue to be stolen. Other spots with large collections can be found in North Dakota, Argentina, and Egypt. The southern portion of the park holds one of the largest concentrations of petrified wood in the world. The ravens were in abundance during our visit (or at least the most visible). The lands are home to hundreds of species including the Pronghorn, Greater Roadrunner, Gunnison’s Prairie Dog, Burrowing Owl, Bobcat, Prairie Rattlesnake, Western Tiger Salamander, Gray Fox, Desert Cottontail, Ord’s Kangaroo Rat, New Mexico Whiptail (a female-only species!), and Golden Eagle. Many sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and notable spots include the Agate House Pueblo, Petrified Forest Bridge, Painted Desert Inn, Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs Archeological District, Route 66 Alignment, Rainbow Forest, Puerco Pueblo, and more. It is home to over 50,000 acres of designated Wilderness and holds 221,390 acres within its boundaries. The park was first created as the Petrified Forest National Monument on Decemby Theodore Roosevelt and designated as a national park on December 9, 1962. Remember to always keep pets on a leash and they are allowed on paved roads, trails, and official wilderness areas (not inside buildings unless they are a certified service animal). Bark Ranger park tags are available for sale at the visitor centers. Sophie was too sick to venture for long outside, but she did enjoy her treat and being able to watch the landscape from the backseat. The Petrified Forest National Park also features the Bark Ranger program! Sign-up is available at any entrance booth or visitor center. We were only able to spend a couple of hours in the park, but it would have been nice to have at least half a day to thoroughly take in the landscape and historical sites. ![]() You can also obtain a free backcountry permit to stay overnight in the park. Some trails around Red Basin and the Martha’s Butte have newly opened. While we stuck to driving and just pulling over at the designated stops for photos, there are many opportunities for hiking and more. We started at the northern entrance off of I-40 and drove through the 28-mile (45 km) stretch to the Rainbow Forest Museum and southern entrance at US-180 before continuing on our way to Flagstaff, Arizona. A 7-day pass for one automobile is $20.00 (motorcycles are 15 and bicycles/pedestrians are 10 each). The northern entrance’s Painted Desert Visitor Center can be found off of I-40 at exit 311. ![]() The Petrified Forest National Park is located near Holbrook, Arizona at 1 Park Road, Petrified Forest, AZ. ![]() Being able to stay in the car with the dogs and all our sentimental items was so much easier than fighting the summer crowds and trying to fit in something that would have involved extra planning. It ended up being such a great choice.Īs it was the end of July, the weather was incredibly hot outside for most of the drive. Since we didn’t have time to see the Grand Canyon, we looked over the map of our route to Flagstaff while in Albuquerque and decided to do a last minute drive through the Petrified Forest National Park. It’s definitely a good thing we didn’t try to fit anything else in. We ended up arriving in Los Angeles two days before the scheduled delivery date, but were actually surprised the following morning with the arrival of the truck. Due to some sudden health issues with one of our dogs and deadlines with the movers (we were in a bit of a race to beat the moving truck to Los Angeles to avoid putting our household goods in storage), the trip didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned. In preparation for the drive, I had originally planned a few stops along the way to help break up the trip and maybe even see the Grand Canyon. At the end of July, we moved from Northern Virginia to Los Angeles. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |