Sunday, September 26, 2010

Petrified Forest NP - Giant Logs trail

From the Grand Canyon we drove to the Petrified Forest NP, which is located close to the border with New Mexico, on both sides of interstate I-40 that is a major west–east highway in the US.

As we were getting closer to the park, we could enjoy more and more motels/hotels/ranches/shops advertising themselves with huge dinosaurs and "petrified" tree logs... It felt like we got transferred to the land of kitsch :) Luckily, as soon as we crossed the gate leading to the park, the landscape changed completely. All of a sudden we found ourselves in the land of peace, quiet and pastel colors.

The first thing that we did in the park was to go to the visitor's center and then for a short walk (0.4 mile loop) on the Giant Logs Trail, located directly behind the visitor's center. The walk was a bit disappointing (even though on the park's webpage advertised as the one featuring "some of the largest and most colorful logs in the park.") and I would recommend skipping it in favor of hiking elsewhere in the park, e.g. on the Crystal Forrest Trail.

Petrified logs:








Not-petrified husband: