April 12th, 2023
On Thursday, May 6th, I left the cold nights near Prescott and drove up to Flagstaff and then followed Interstate 40 over to Holbrook and down to the Petrified Forest. There I stayed for 3 nights in the free camping area of the Rainbow Forest Gift Shop, right at the entrance to the national park.
Geology has never been one of my subjects of interest. Most places I have been, I learned a little of the geologic history. I did not think of the park as of much interest, but rather, a place to layover for a day and do a hike or two. However, once there, I became interested enough to stay for 3 days.
In a lot of the park, areas with petrified trees, the landscape seemed similar to photographs I had seen taken by the Mars rover. The only difference was the grass. I hiked on several of the trails through “forest” areas over the 3 days. The area was unlike places I had seen petrified wood in the past. There were logs and chunks of trees everywhere. Apparently the area had once been a swamp near sea level. As trees fell, they were preserved by the silica filled water of streams. The silica percolated through the wood and eventually replaced all the organic material. Over millions of years the tree trunks turn to quartz. Many of the logs looked just like recently felled trees. But, when you touched them, you knew immediately that it was stone, due to the feeling of cold. When you touch wood, it does not give you the same experience as when stone sucks the heat from you fingers.
The area went through an uplift as the continents moved, placing the forests at over 5000 feet above sea level. The underlying sandstone and volcanic ash began to erode out from under the logs. Trees would have stayed intact if still wood, but the rock is too heavy, and as its supporting ground eroded away, the logs crack laterally. A lot of the trees look as though they have been sawed off. and litter the landscape in large chunks. They roll and scatter over time. However, in some areas of the park, the erosion was more even, and while the logs are still cracked, the chunks have not yet rolled away, leaving long relatively undisturbed tree trunks. There are several “forest” areas in the park with names such as Jasper, Crystal, Long Logs, and Giant Logs. Each is a little different and the trails that exist around and through them are unique.
There is not a lot of wildlife evident, other than Ravens and Meadow Larks and an occasional snake or lizard. I did see a band of Pronghorns in the northern grassland area. Also to the north was the rusted out hulk of a vintage automobile, marking the point at which old Route 66 crossed the area. There was not a lot of evidence of the pavement having been there, as apparently it did not preserve as well as the trees.
The camping area was gravel and sand with a few cement pads on which to place chairs or picnic tables. I placed my satellite dish there, facing north, and solar panels facing the sun. Shortly after, a truck camper pulled up close enough to block the satellite signal and place the panels in shade. It seems some people don’t think. So I kindly helped them by requesting that they move. Alas, it is what you seem to get when things are free.
After spending 3 quiet days in the park, I moved on northeast. I did a layover night in a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Albuquerque. The shrimp dinner was good. The other campers…not so much. A guy to the left with an old motor coach could not get his motor to run. So, I was treated to the sound of tools and a winding starter motor until 2 a.m. There was also the occasional loud argument with his wife and a dog that barked non-stop because it was in the motorhome and they were outside. In the evening, another guy pulled into my right with a large Class C recreation vehicle. It had a slide out bedroom on the side, which he opened up to within 2 feet of my truck and trailer. In order to do that, he pulled far enough forward so that I could still get out the door of my trailer. The next morning, I was barely able to pull around him, with just inches to spare. I circled around the restaurant and there in the parking lot was a Roadrunner. That got me into a better mood. I hope it didn’t go to the other side, as there were at least 2 less than wily coyotes over there.
Starting All Over 