Petrified Forest National Park Rock Art

This large (see radiator in background) petroglyph of a mountain lion was discovered by a bulldozer in 1930.

Looking down on "newspaper rock" from a park overlook (as close as you can get to this one). Note that there are many petroglyph sites in the southwest called Newspaper rock, people seem to like to use this term when they discover a large number of petroglyphs on one rock.

Here a closer view of Newspaper Rock, click on it to wander around... These petroglyphs were chipped through the oxidized rock finish between 650-2000 years ago.

Part of Newspaper Rock...

Another location in the park near the Puerco Pueblo ruin which was built/occupied around 1250 AD. There are some solstice petroglyph markers in this area that only get aligned with a band of sunlight on the summer solstice.

My photos are slightly enhanced to darken the patina finish on the rock, its actually a little lighter in real life with slightly less contrast between the patina and exposed underlying rock that has been chipped out for the petroglyph. There are also a very large number of petroglyphs on privately owned land with restricted/no access in the greater surrounding area of the park.

One of the issues with petroglyphs and pictographs is that they do degrade over time due to erosion, patinas reforming in chiseled out portions, vandalism, etc. One option would be to remove them and put them in sterile museums. Another would be to build protective covers over them (like the huge monsterous structure over the Casa Grande Ruin in Casa Grande National Monument). Another is to let them be, keep them in place in their natural environment. This last option is the current option favored by the Park Service and by the Navajo. I tend to agree. Seeing something in place is a different experience than seeing it thousands of miles away and behind glass.

The mountain lion petroglyph symbol is found in modern reproductions like this metal art piece at the park headquarters. It is a pretty cool figure.

I wonder what people of long ago would think if they could see and handle this paper bag with several of their symbols displayed? Or would they be more fascinated by the text? Or just the paper bag itself? Ok, well this wraps up the Petrified Forest National Park pictures, next up is Canyon de Chelly.

Painted Desert day hike

While in Petrified Forest National Park last week, I went on a several hour, ranger guided, cross-country day hike in the Painted Desert badlands.

The "dunes" look like sand but are actually a soft crumbly clay-like rock.

mixed with hard rock

the main objective of our day hike was to see these petroglyphs (click on picture to wander around a larger image of the rock art). There is evidence of human history in the area for more than 10,000 years. Pictographs and petroglyphs disappear over time and most are much more recent, roughly in A.D. 300 - 1900 range, depending on where you are and what you are looking at.

after wandering around for a couple of hours, time to climb back up to the rim...

catching my breath, or pausing for another landscape picture?

Ranger making sure he isn't leaving any fossils behind...

looking down at several petrified logs, one has been undercut and now forms what they call an agate bridge (since the log is now quartz agate). As an aside, there was once logging done of the petrified logs, since they could be ground up to make good abrasives. That was one of the factors in putting aside part of this area in 1906 as a National Monument to preserve for future generations to enjoy. [biting tongue to avoid inserting modern day political commentary here... *smile*]

and back at the top, none the worse for wear although I appear to be taking on some of the surrounding coloration...

Painted Desert Inn

This is the Painted Desert Inn, a National Historic Landmark. The original inn was built in the 1920's, was then remodeled in the 30's by the Civilian Conservation Core, and today is an interesting historic structure and park bookstore.

Lots of great reflections to catch off the clear glass windows outside

ok, this isn't a great picture, but I thought it was interesting because it shows both the outside reflection and the interior window at the far side of the room looking out at the badlands, reflecting off the interior floor.

painted directly on interior walls of the building

looking straight up at stained glass over one of the main interior stairwells

Is this a great patio and setting or what?!

Petrified Forest National Park / Painted Desert

Here are a few more clicks from car pullouts in Petrified Forest National Park taken last week. The view above is of the badlands, part of the wilderness area of the park. With a permit, you can backpack in, spend the night, and wander around. Pretty much have the place to yourself...

the "Tepees"

above, crew working on installing a new paved trail in part of the park (1/4 down, 2/3 across picture is where people are standing)

a short steep descent trail from one of the overlooks

with a bench for the return trip

the entrance to the wilderness area with a storm approaching

Petrified Forest National Park

Last week I took advantage of some of my unwanted time off and made a side trip to northeast Arizona to visit/revisit several places of interest that are usually out of my way. I'll call this route the long way from Tucson to visit my mother in Prescott. I've got tons of pictures for several blog posts. Today's post will be some snaps of part of my trip through Petrified Forest National Park.

This barren looking National Park is full of petrified wood: trees that lived over 225 million years ago and have become quartz rocks from minerals in silica-saturated waters seeping into and replacing the wood.

This produces some amazing colors such as seen in the chips above. Petrified wood collected from private land has been used to make incredible bookends, coffee tables, bolo ties, etc. Its heavy too, about 200 lbs per cubic foot.

odd... I'm not afraid of my shadow, but my shadow seems petrified of me...

curvy foot path through the fallen forest

Here's a nice long petrified tree along a paved pedestrian path.

A suitably colored lizard for a colorful log. This area is also rich in dinosaur fossils, dating from long ago, prior to the continents moving to their current positions. As illustrated by the fossils and large trees, this area was once a tropical environment. My how things move about and change given a 100 or 200 million years.

Lots of open space, not a lot of people. The car/camper in the above picture is back at the pull out for the loop trail I'm on.

A cross section of one of the petrified logs

another close-up

still looks a little wood-like, but definitely stone

some of the very few other people I saw during the day... [Park rangers and various people I ran into during my few days in the area said that visitation by americans is way down due to the economy and that main visitors right now are europeans. Of course, that also means its a great time to visit to avoid crowds, accommodation issues, and enjoy some solitude!]

Bird's eye view looking down over a cliff

Stay tuned for more pictures of the painted desert, rock art, and Canyon de Chelly.