As we made our way through the 28 miles of Petrified Forest National Park, we saw the Painted Desert, Newspaper Rock, and the Teepees, but finally we came upon some petrified wood! “Look, kids. There it is!” I was so excited to show it to them. We’d been waiting so long.
But it was the strangest thing. At this stopping point it was so incredibly windy that I literally could not open the door of the van! “Let’s just look from here!” was my vote. Jason decided to go out on his own. “Well we just lost Daddy!” I proclaimed to the horror of my children who took me all to seriously and unanimously began screaming. Insert smile here. I was worried though! Later I asked why he had been holding his head like that. He said he was trying to keep from losing his sunglasses!
To my chagrin he decided it was perfectly fine for all the kids to get out. While I couldn’t push my door open, the sliding door was not a problem so the kids piled out. It is their favorite memory of Petrified Forest National Park. They walked around pushing into the wind with all their might, and I just prayed I wouldn’t lose one. I found it strange that this was the only spot like that!
And then the desert glittered! Isn’t it gorgeous. I thought I had seen it all!
So many varied and gorgeous sights all in this one park. We also loved the Blue Mesa area.
“One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn’t belong…” Someone’s shirt may have fallen in the toilet… 🙂

The kids had a blast climbing all over it! It was fun to finally see petrified wood, but there is so, so much more to explore in the park. I hope you’ve enjoyed our visual tour!

Leave a Reply