Petrified Forest National Park

After resupplying in Farmington, we headed south toward Gallup NM.  In Gallup, we found a super Walmart and spent the night in the parking lot along with many other trucks and RVs.  It was a fairly comfortable stay, but noisy since I-40 was very close.

In the morning we paid a visit to Petrified Forest National Park.  We had passed by this park two or three times on previous trips, but never took the time to stop. The park spanned by a twenty mile road with a number of pull-outs.

The road passes through the Painted Desert, a red soil badlands area..  We took some pictures. But the light was not  right to really show the bright colors.

There were several pull-outs with areas littered with huge petrified wood logs. Two of the stops had nice walking trails where you could see the wood close-up.  One nice thing about this park is that it is dog friendly.  Most national parks do not allow dogs on the trails.

 One would think they are wooden logs.  All are solid rock.

 Mya wants to check out the raven.

 200 million years ago many of these trees had to be at least 100 feet tall!

 The logs that are full agatized  can be quite colorful polishing into great looking gemstones.  Many retain the pattern of the growth rings appearing like real wood.

After touring  the park the, we rejoined I-40 and drove to a city park near Winslow, Arizona.  Since it was late in the day we bypassed the turnout for Meteor Crator which will have to await a future trip.


 

The McHood park just south of Winslow is located on the shores of a small lake.  The park is free for a stay of up to 14 days.  The sites are roomy with at least 30 no hookup sites.  It's a perfect price if your rig is equipped for boondocking.

We spent two days at McHood campground.