Travel back in time – Visiting the Petrified Forest
Posted in National Park, Southwest, Travel | By Shelley Gillespie | Tags: Desert, National Park, Southwest, Travel
Imagine trees that lived millions of years ago were all on view to examine! One of the images at the top of this blog is just such a tree in the Petrified Forest National Park. (It is orangy and multi-colored. Reboot/refresh this site if you’re not seeing the petrified tree at the top of this blog.)
One of the National Parks that gives a visitor something interesting to see and gets out of the way of the attraction, Petrified Forest National Park has walkways where visitors can explore the areas where numerous petrified trees were subject to the literal pressures of millennia. Small shards and giant tree trunks from before man are there to view, but don’t expect a shady avenue of trees. They are all lying down on the job.
The visitor center, which is open daily except for December 25, has facilities, exhibits and displays. Admission to the park is $10 per vehicle or with a national park pass.
See www.nps.gov/pefo for more information.
Visiting is much more fun than most science classes!
Do not take any of the trees or fragments you see! If you are caught (and they do have park rangers at both ends of the park), you have committed a federal crime. If you’re desperate to have a souvenir, private individuals who have remnants of the Petrified Forest on their land are selling their pieces in the Holbrook area.
Travel to the Trees:
Petrified Forest National Park is in northern Arizona, east of Holbrook, Arizona on Interstate 40 and Arizona Highway 180. If you are driving (and that’s the only way to get here): travelers heading west will want to take Exit 311, drive the 28 miles through the park and connect with Highway 180 at the south end. Then, travel west to Holbrook to rejoin I-40.
Coming from the east on Interstate 40, the best bet is Exit 285 into Holbrook then Highway 180 South to the park’s south entrance (19 miles). Return to I-40 after enjoying the 28 miles of the park.
Tags: Desert, National Park, Southwest, Travel