It's a Rock AND a Tree
Written: Nov 26 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Take home a piece of petrified wood (from outside the park)
Cons: There's little to see or do other than drive through the park
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| ErgoPropterHoc's Full Review: Petrified Forest National Park |
The Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert are not particularly spectacular sights, compared to what else is nearby (within a couple hundred miles.)
When you go into the petrified forest, it's not like walking into a normal forest. It certainly feels like walking into the desert. Most of the forest is still buried under the sand, and only some small parts have been revealed to the surface either haphazardly by erosion or intentionally by men. Those places where the forest is above ground have been overrun by paths and tourists, and it really feels like walking through a museum exhibit, and not through a national park.
It is illegal to remove any petrified wood from the national park grounds. Nevertheless, many people decide to take small pieces home with them. I would recommend instead stopping by the shops just outside the southern gates for the park. There, they have samples which you can buy legally. These specimens have been mined from privately owned lands outside the park, and many have been cut and polished for you already.
At the north end of the park lies the Painted Desert. This region is made of of highly stratified hills and colourful sands. It is really a nice looking sight, but there is really very little to touch and experience. Instead of trying to plan your trip to be in the Painted Desert at just the right time of day, in just the right weather to fully enjoy the sight, you should consider visiting your local library and finding a nice picture book.
If you are planning a road trip to include visits to both the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert, get a map of Arizona, and plan a course that will bring you in one end of the park, and out the other end. The Interstate system only connects to the north end of the park, and you will have to drive quite a way on the "back" roads coming in or out of the south end, but it will save probably nearly 100 miles of extra driving if you plan ahead.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
ErgoPropterHoc
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Location: Evanston, IL
Reviews written: 71
Trusted by: 66 members
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