August 7, 2019 • 26 mins
If we were to hop into a time machine and travel back to the year 220 million BC, let’s just say things wouldn’t go well for us. This was a time when the food chain was dominated by crocodiles the size of our RV, and when modern day Arizona was a veritable Jurassic Park of dinosaurs and jungles as beautiful as they were dangerous. Imagine us visiting Isla Nublar, but instead of Jeff Goldblum’s pithy comic relief, it’s pure terror and there is no Dr. Grant to save you.
Fortunately, this era has been fossilized and preserved for a far safer experience in the year 2019, and in this episode of Parklandia, we recount our visit to Petrified Forest National Park and the crystalline beauty of its namesake attraction.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
If we were to hop into a time machine and
travel back to the year two million b C. Let's
just say things wouldn't go well for us. This was
a time when the food chain was dominated by crocodiles
the size of our r V, when salamander like creatures
were the size of Great Danes, and when modern day
Arizona was a veritable Jurassic Park of dinosaurs and jungles.
(00:22):
Imagine it's basically visiting East Laublar in Jurassic Park, but
instead of having Jeff Goldbloom's Pippie comic relief, it's pure
terror and there's no Doctor Grant or Laura Dern to
save you. Do I get to meet like Chris Pratt,
Because if I get to meet Chris Pratt, then I
mean I'm jumping into the wrong Jurassic Park. But I
know barely the same franchise I know. Fortunately, Arizona is
(00:45):
much safer in when your biggest risk is getting a sunburn. Yeah,
but part of the prehistoric era has been fossilized and preserved,
and we're gonna enjoy that today. On park Landia, as
we talked about Petrified Forest National Park, I'm Matt, I'm
Brad we sold our loft in Chicago and gave up
our city dwelling existence to live in an RV and
travel the country full time. Thus, to us in dog Finn,
(01:08):
thanks for listening. The most notable aspect of this prehistoric
time period is the ambiance of crystallized logs that give
Petrified National Park its name. A trip to this park
and out of the way destination in sleepy northeastern Arizona
(01:32):
reveals a glimpse into the wild past more so than
any other national park. I mean, it feels like a
figurative time travel through this fossilized world. Yeah, that's absolutely true.
One thing I think is important to point out for
anyone coming here expecting some sort of forest, which is fair. Um,
(01:53):
you really shouldn't expect anything tropical or jungle like. This
isn't the year anymore fortunate Nowadays there really isn't anything
foresty whatsoever. And honestly, the only green thing you're likely
to see here is my cactus phone case. Well, you
have to tell everyone your phone case's name. Yeah, it's
(02:13):
cactus Jack is the name of my phone case? And
what name? I named it? After? A Mexican restaurant chain
that I remember seeing in New Hampshire growing up. I
don't know if it was beyond that, and I honestly
don't have to remember eating there, but apparently it left
enough of an impact that of now named my phone
case after it. Yeah, I guess you should probably get
back to the landscape though. Let's cut Yeah, let's get
(02:36):
back the landscape here. Petrified Forest is almost eerily quiet, really,
with not not many animals aside from the occasional crow,
which kind of fits this arid, barren landscape. But in
spite of its name, which sounds rather lush, Pretrified Forest
is a desert with mostly just sandstone and these gigantic
(03:01):
fallen logs that have been transformed over time into shimmering crystals.
That's not to suggest that it's all just dystopian and arid, though,
this this landscape is really rich with natural beauty and
of course plenty of Instagram opportunities. Yes, all those Instagram opportunities.
I mean the pictures that we got here are probably
(03:22):
some of my favorite from the beautiful Yeah, they're like,
it's a hauntingly beautiful area and it really comes out
well in photos. You don't really need to use filters
on Instagram for that hashtag no filter. Yeah exactly. Um. So,
in addition to dinosaur fossils and petroglyss left behind by
native people who used to live here, Petrified Forest is
(03:43):
ultimately a well preserved look at these mighty trees that
once thrived in this region when this part of Arizona
was a tropical terrain. Now these trees have long since
fallen um mostly due to raging rivers that toppled them
and ultimately wound up burying them in volcanic ash and
silt and thus fossilizing them over the course of hundreds
(04:06):
of millions of years. I mean, they really are the
stars of the show here at the Petrified Forest. I mean,
with some of the most densest concentration of logs seen
in the places like the Painted Desert, the Rainbow Forest,
the Giant Forest. All of us get their names from
how massive and colorful these logs are today. I mean
the Old Faithful for instance, not to be confused with
yellow stones. Main attraction is a looming giant log in
(04:29):
the Giant Forest. I mean it's as wide as a bus. Yeah,
it's huge. I mean we should really just throw it back.
I mean way back to how these logs came to be.
I mean, you're really better at describing that. Yeah, alright,
I'm gonna give you the Betty Crocker recipe version of
how petrified logs are formed. Um So, when these trees
fell and became buried in sediment and ash, that essentially
(04:51):
cuts off oxygen in the wood. Uh yeah, no more oxygen.
So eventually water will seep in and when it makes
us with the sediment, it forms silica in the ash
and begins this slow, long, drawn out process of transforming
the original tissue in the wood into rock. And along
the way, the silica turns into quartz and it gets
(05:13):
its colors based on various mineral content from things like
chromium and iron and carbon. And so fast forward a
couple hundred million years and that settlement is removed by
wind and these locks are now exposed as glistening, essentially
giant gems with colors like purple, green, blue. Basically, it's
(05:35):
a desert filled with these gigantic easter egg looking logs. Yeah,
I mean that process that lead the petrified forest. I
mean it's a lengthy and elaborate recipe from other nature,
just like you mentioned, I know, the results may sound
like they're stale or hard as rock, but they're beautifully
breathtaking and it's unlike anything else I've seen on Earth,
(05:57):
and we've again been well traveled, so it's one of
those things like it's just it's so beautiful. How this
park contains some of the most concentrated collections of petrified woods,
which people end up trying to steal, which is not
not okay, yeah, leave them be. Um. More so than
most parks, Petrified forests, for better or worse, is known
(06:20):
as kind of a drive through park. A lot of
people don't spend a ton of time here um, which
is kind of unfortunate because there's a lot to see,
but it's understandable. That's mostly due to the fact that
the park is not very huge to begin with. But
then it's bisected by this main park road and there
are two entrances, one on the north end, one on
(06:40):
the south end, and then you have this main park
road that goes right through it, with a few little
trails here and they're off that go off that road. Um.
But on the kind of positive side of that, it
is refreshingly straightforward and it makes it very easy to
navigate this park with very clear markers denoting hiking trails,
historic sites, and viewpoints along the way. It's compared to
(07:00):
a lot of other parks that are like yellow Stone
or Yosemite, which have like kind of a dizzying array
of entry points and it's a little overwhelming. So especially
for newbies who are visiting for the first time, Petrified
Forest is very doable and very welcoming in that way.
It's kind of it's not as intimidating. I found that
very refreshing trails. One of the musty stops for me
(07:36):
was the Blue Masa Trail. I mean, as easy as
the name is. It was located off the Blue Maza Road.
I mean, didn't we say it was pretty straightforward, very straightforward.
You know exactly where you're going with the Blue Maza Road,
and this one's located right in the middle of the park.
I mean the trail is an easy, like one mile loop,
but within a short distance it really packs a punch.
(07:57):
I mean the whole thing is paved, so starting out
along the Mesa ridge with sweeping views of the surrounding desert,
I mean you quickly get transformed in this trail and
you get to weave down into some colorful blad lands.
It's lit with tints of purples and blues, hence the name.
I know, right like a name. Yeah. I mean once
(08:19):
we reach the bottom, the trail loops through a forest
of petrified logs, many of them the size of boulders.
I mean, between the colors of the bad lands and
the petrified wood, this trail is as colorful as the
Las Vegas strip. I mean, no neon signs though, I mean,
it's no casino, just as colorful, just as colorful. I mean,
it's just a great place to, you know, get a
(08:41):
work call, which Matt did not like. Um, but when
you're helping guide and run a business, sometimes you have
to take those phone calls right in the middle of
a trail, right pabe Yeah. I mean one another pro
of this trail is it's a great trail for passive
aggressively storming away. Um. It's nice and flat, great for that.
Um yeah, I mean when you're not doing that, when
(09:02):
or not being annoyed. Uh, it's just a great stroll
to take photos and enjoy the starting scenery. And the
best part for us, what we loved the most was
being able to take our dog Finn. Yeah, Finn, he's
so amazing. I mean, watching Finny run is like watching
a t Rex on forefront arms, like, yeah, pretty much,
pretty much, so cute, so fun. And Finn he's a
(09:24):
he's a mini dogs and so he's he's not at
his fattest. He was thirteen pounds and it is right now,
he's about thirteen pounds. He's just a small, brown haired,
short haired minni docks in and he is our best
friend and our companion, and you know, whenever I'm feeling emotional,
he's always there for me. And Finn is really more
(09:46):
than just our dog. He's our friend and that's why
we really enjoy going to these national parks with him
and bringing him whenever. Really cool. But if there's bears
out there at Gators, we definitely stay away from Now
he stays in the air v But yeah, it was.
It's really great to be able to experience stuff like
this with him. And not all national parks are, like
(10:07):
you said, very dog friendly. Petrified Forest really is. It's
one of the most dog friendly parks in the system,
and it's cool to be able to take him out
with us and let him enjoy the scenery along with us,
and this is a great trail for him. The length
was ideal, it wasn't too long, not much elevation change,
so we could easily do it without getting too tired.
(10:27):
And also you could tell he was equally as obsessed
with a petrified wood as we were. Just beautiful things. Yeah,
luckily he didn't be on them. Oh yeah no. And
for you, this wasn't your first time hiking the Blue
Oh no no, this is my second time petrified forest,
and in particular, second time hiking the Blue Masa Trail.
And I can definitively say that this trail is definitely
(10:50):
within my top three favorite hiking trails of any national park,
which is a huge statement but well deserved, especially because
you love like te hike. Yeah, you're a small time
hiker like for me, this would be perfect for me
to name one of my top three. But yeah, it
is kind of surprising because I tend to like really
hardcore trails and I do long, drawn out hikes. I've
(11:12):
done them in so many different national parks, so this one,
I think it really indicates how amazing this short little
trail is. It's just so stunning from every vantage point,
and it's kind of place that when I'm hiking here alone,
like I did on my first trip here, it's I
can't help say things aloud to myself, just totally al
I'm like, oh jeez, and can you believe this view?
(11:33):
And I'm just like, he talks to himself more often
than he would like to admit, Like I'll catch him
talking to himself out loud and I'll be like, I
didn't say anything. I'm like, yes, Well, the thing is,
I think I'm muttering or I think I'm whispering under
my breath or something, but I guess I just I
whisper much louder than I think I do. So that's
what I've been. That's what I spent my whole time
(11:55):
the Blue Wings of Trail doing, um, which is you
can't help it. It's just so breathtaking like that. But
that being said, and and despite the fact that I'm
obsessed with this trail, you should know that Petrified Forest
is not really known as like a hiking mecca. There's
not a lot of hiking trails here. There are really
(12:15):
only seven official trails, and none of them are longer
than three miles in length, which it makes it a
very family friendly park. Very family friendly, nothing to store anyway,
especially for those road trips, you know, through the country
when you aren't those RVs. Yeah, exactly. And it's it
also makes sense why it's a drive through kind of
park because people can easily just meander through it, hop
off to a quick little trail here and there, and
(12:37):
continue on your way. And that's awesome. That's a great thing.
It's it makes it possible to do all pretty much
all the parks trails in one visit, in one afternoon,
and these trails do a great job of getting you
up close and personal with some of the most on
spiring petrified specimens and historic sites. You are listening to
the park Landed podcast from my Heart Radio, hosted by
(12:58):
Brad and Matt carrollac. We'll be back with more of
the Parklandia podcast from my heart Radio. I'm Matt and
I'm Brad. You were listening to the park Landed podcast
from my heart Radio. Man, or you tell me about that.
One highlight is the Giant Logs Trail. Like, isn't that
located right behind the Rainbow Forest Museum. Yeah? Yeah, the
Giant Logs Trail, as the the name is definitely kind
(13:20):
of an eyecatcher. It just sounds so larger than life,
incredible like it is. And yeah, it starts right behind
the Rainbow Forest Museum, which is absolutely worth a visit
as well for learning all about the dinosaur history here
in fossils Um. But the Giant Logs Trail has some
of the largest petrified logs anywhere on Earth, including Old Faithful,
(13:42):
and they're just it's mind blowing how massive these things were.
And to imagine what these things must have been like
when they were standing. They must have been the size
of like Sekoia trees or something. And now they're glistening
like gems pretty much, and that's amazing. But then something
for something completely different. There's the Puerco Pueblo Trail, also
(14:05):
an easy trail, it's only about point three miles round trip.
In this highlights another very important aspect of the park,
which is the history and ancient civilizations that once lived here.
I mean, it's really hard to imagine living in such
a seemingly barren landscape. I mean, yeah, I know nowadays
I can't imagine even like doing backcountry camping here. I
(14:26):
don't know how that would even work, but I believe
it or not. Some two thousand years ago or so,
whole communities used to thrive here and there. Uh yeah,
there are I can back it up. There are hundreds
of sites throughout the park with evidence um of these
ancient civilizations, some of which left behind petroglyphs and village
(14:46):
ruins that you can tour and look at marble apt
and you said, wuere will play blow where cool? Yes,
it's kind of it's tricky to say, where go Pueblo.
You kind of have to stay in slow motion to
get it right, especially for me. I'm horrible in their
own pronunciations. So you don't oh, you don't say, oh,
(15:10):
you're funny. Yes, that is it. It's just one of
the best places to witness history. I mean thanks to
like wealth preserved structures. Back then, hundreds of people lived
in the window loss and doorless web blows concentrated by
water sources. Ladder serves as their entry point, so no windows,
you're going down, yes, through a ladder. And these dwellings
were situated right around these central plazas, which were community
(15:33):
spaces for socializing and gathering. Yes, it's like rocky kind
of clay huts, no windows, no doors, um, and I mean,
obviously water is everything. You have to concentrate your living
accommodations by that. Yes, we learned that in Mace of Verdane.
Yeah we did, but we'll talk about that later. UM
(15:53):
quick side note UM relating to Puerco Pueblow. I remember
when I was here the first time, This was when
I was a little solo trip Um. I saw this
cautioning cautionary sign by the trailhead warning about dangerous bees
in the area, and I remember thinking, what a missed
opportunity it was not to say, be where the E
(16:14):
W A R E, Like, how many times in life
you're gonna have the opportunity to spell that out and
they didn't use it? Is very punny. Yeah, it was shocking. Um. Anyway,
I didn't see any dangerous bees, so it all worked out. Um.
Not far from Puerko play Blow is newspaper rock. Um
(16:35):
just down the street or down the main road, would say,
just a stone throw away, A stone throw from Puerko
play Blow. It's the This is definitely the best site
for viewing Petrick lifts in the park. There's such a
huge concentration of them here there. I think, honestly, there's
like more than six hundred or so petri lifts. UM.
And the amazing thing about petro lifts really anywhere you
see them, but particularly here in such a large amount,
(16:58):
they provide a mysteria is and fascinating little peak into
the past and what life must have been like for
this civilization. Now you're gonna have to tell me more
about this because when we went through I didn't really
get to go and see this, which I'm kind of
bummed out. But you know, the future is still possible,
and petroglyphs will be there in the future. Um. But yeah,
they're I'm obsessed with petroglyphs. They're so interesting. Uh, and
(17:20):
these ones in particular, UM. The National Park Service and
archaeologists have reached out to descendants of of people from
the Navajo Zuni Hopie people's to examine these petriclyphs and
see if they could translate any of them. Um. They
only recognize a few of them, so they're not able
(17:41):
to piece together what the meanings really were, what they
were trying to communicate. We can only guess really, were
they making symbols of spirituality? Where they stories? Where they warnings?
Were these prehistoric emojis? The world may never know. Yeah,
the original emojis. Oh man, maybe these uh will be
(18:01):
found when we discover why the ancestral pueblo from masa
Verde National Park left the city. Um, they built their
cities in the mountains and they vanished. But again, we'll
have to stay tuned for a future episode. Yes, sorry,
let's stay back to mark. I am so so beautiful.
Let's yeah put a pain and that fine? Okay, Well,
(18:23):
let's talk about these ancient civilizations that abandoned the area
for reasons unknown, much like mesa Verde and they I add.
But anyways, modern day people UM sought it out for
new reasons tourism I mean, after the train tracks were
laid through northeastern Arizona, local and national advocates sought to
capitalize on the area's unique geography by using the rails
(18:45):
to bring in tourists and to see that painted desert
I mean. Root sixty six directly passes through the present
day park as well, making it the only national park
that contains a section of that historic highway. Yes, and
as with so many other things in the modern day,
it was just a matter of seeing an opportunity to
make money, so they did in naturally, hotels and roadside
(19:08):
ends began to pop up around the area, including UM
something called the Painted Desert in which is within still
within the national park. It's now no longer an end,
it's a museum without lodging and UM. Of course, this
increased tourism and travelers um to the area brought its
(19:28):
own set of problems. In the case of petrified forests,
this meant people were talkting smaller pieces of petrified wood
to keep the souvenirs or I don't know, like colorful
paper weights or something. UM And of course, considering the
limitations of this geographic marvel, this is appalling. It is.
And we're going to talk about the curse of the
(19:48):
Petrified Forest folklore. We're talking about Petrified Forest National Park
this week, and we're starting to get into something a
little ominous. Yes, we are going to talk about the
curse of the Petrified Forest. You know, the one referenced
(20:10):
in Netflix show Dead to me about Yeah, I love
that show about how Steve damn you Steve. Yeah, So
there was this dialogue between Steve and UM, one of
the stars, Linda Cardilini. Um. Apparently Steve stole petrified wood
from Petrified Forest National Park and guess what handed up
(20:32):
dead in a swimming pool? Oops, spoiler alert just like that. Yeah,
let's not be like Steve. No, let's not be like Steve.
And sorry, bet you didn't think you'd be hearing about
dead to me spoilers on this podcast. But that's just
because clearly Netflix producers love the Petrified forests as much
as we do. And you know, this curse is serious stuff, Yeah,
(20:54):
very serious stuff. Thankfully we have park champions like John
Ware and Theodore Roosevelt to thank for protecting the petrified
wood for future generations and from future Steve's um so.
John Ware was the first to conduct a scientific excavation
of the landscape here and he worked with Roosevelt to
formally protect it, and ultimately than they did give him
(21:17):
Petrified Forest as National monument status before it eventually got
upgraded to a National park in the year nineteen sixty two,
and today about eight hundred thousand annual visitors come to
Petrod Forests to look rather than take, unless you want
to end up floating face down in that pool, yeah,
or you know, with a half define which is also
horrible because in twos and inten Congress allotted funds. Yeah,
(21:42):
in two thousand tents, so not that long ago. Congress
allotted funds for parking expansion, which essentially did double Petrified
Forest protected land. Um. Currently, the National Park Services working
in developing new regions which will open up potentially new trails,
more to explore, more to discuss or so really it
seems like the park is only going to get better
(22:03):
and better in the future, which is super exciting. Yeah,
this park was really easy to navigate with the r V,
but you have to leave at night because it's one
of the few parks with gates that close and lock
every night so people don't steal the petrified wood and
become cursed, you know. Like Steve, you're listening to the
park Landia podcast in my Heart Radio, hosted by Brad
(22:23):
and Matt Carrouac. We'll be back with more of the
park Landia podcast from my heart Radio My favorite Alright,
time for one of my favorite segments, Matt, what was
your favorite thing to do at Petrified Forest National Park? Well,
my favorite thing I feel like the obvious one of
(22:43):
the blue mas at because that's just amazing and I'm
obsessed with it. But I will I want to also
highlight the Rainbow Forest Museum. I think it's incredible, an
immersive and just very cool to see and learn more
about the dinosaurs and precaus or canials that used to
live here. When I was in the museum the first time, um,
(23:04):
there was this large mural, an installation that showed depicted
like the animals that were once here and what life
was like some two million years ago. And let me
just say, it look terrifying. I'm really thankful that it's
not still like that. Um, but it just it's insane
and incredible, and I just don't it's mind blowing to
(23:27):
imagine how this landscape can utterly change and transform like that,
even if it's been a couple hundred million years. Um. Right,
And well, we're like those three like essential items for
you because you've been here a couple of times, you
might be better than mine, but you never know. Yes,
I've been here a couple of times. UM. So if
there were three things that I would personally bring to
(23:47):
pitch fight for us, I would bring sunscreen. It's very sunny,
even if it's not super hot, it's very sunny, and
you're out in the wide open. There's no tree cover UM,
so that's important. I would also suggest layers like sweatshirts,
light jackets. Um. Again, the desert environment um can get
surprisingly chilly. And then, like we mentioned earlier, Petrified Forests
(24:10):
just one of the most dog friendly parks really in
the National park system. So you got to bring a dog, leash,
bring your dog, let them enjoy the trails with you.
Which that leads into my favorite thing was being able
to bring Finny on the trails with us and get
some of the most glorious Instagram photos out there. Um.
And if I had to remember three things is because
(24:31):
I'm nine percent of the time the driver, is we
would have to fuel up before going there. Yeah, the
thing I'd bring is my dog, Finning. And I would
definitely bring water um, not only for ourselves but for
Finning and our little like hiking dog bowl UM, so
that way Finney can get water around along the trail
(24:52):
and not get exhausted. UM. And we were talking about
this yesterday and I think pretty much touch our dream
vacation would be this larger, bigger than life root sixty
six American road trip UM, much like the one we're taking.
I mean, bring friends or dogs and energy to recharge
in the space that you're visiting. I mean that that
(25:13):
is what the American dream really is, is to do
what we're doing. And we're so thankful that we get
this opportunity um and support from the people around us. Yeah.
And I think it's so poetic and perfect too, that
route Route sixty six, this kind of quintessentially American thoroughfare,
happens to go right through Petrified Forest National Park And
(25:34):
really it doesn't get more all American than a National
park either. So it's so ideal and so perfect, and
it would be really a dream to do all overout
sixty six as this kind of Americana drive um, and
just the opportunity to be able to stop off and
Petrified Forests and do some hikes and learn about dinosaurs
(25:56):
and petrock lists. It's all. It's all wonderful, all very
doable and highly recommended. You've been listening to park Landia.
The show was created by us Matt and Brad Carollac
along with Christopher hesiotis Our executive producer is Christopher hasiotis
produced and edited by Mike Johnes. If you're not already subscribed,
(26:17):
you can make sure you never miss an episode by
subscribing to the show on Apple podcast, the I Heart
Radio app, or anywhere you get your podcasts. We take
a lot of pictures in the road. Follow us at
park landia podcast dot com and on Facebook and Instagram
at park Landia Podcast. Special thanks to Gabrielle Collins, Crystal Waters,
and the rest of the park Landia crew, but we
(26:37):
always want to thank you for listening.
If we were to hop into a time machine and
travel back to the year two million b C. Let's
just say things wouldn't go well for us. This was
a time when the food chain was dominated by crocodiles
the size of our r V, when salamander like creatures
were the size of Great Danes, and when modern day
Arizona was a veritable Jurassic Park of dinosaurs and jungles.
(00:22):
Imagine it's basically visiting East Laublar in Jurassic Park, but
instead of having Jeff Goldbloom's Pippie comic relief, it's pure
terror and there's no Doctor Grant or Laura Dern to
save you. Do I get to meet like Chris Pratt,
Because if I get to meet Chris Pratt, then I
mean I'm jumping into the wrong Jurassic Park. But I
know barely the same franchise I know. Fortunately, Arizona is
(00:45):
much safer in when your biggest risk is getting a sunburn. Yeah,
but part of the prehistoric era has been fossilized and preserved,
and we're gonna enjoy that today. On park Landia, as
we talked about Petrified Forest National Park, I'm Matt, I'm
Brad we sold our loft in Chicago and gave up
our city dwelling existence to live in an RV and
travel the country full time. Thus, to us in dog Finn,
(01:08):
thanks for listening. The most notable aspect of this prehistoric
time period is the ambiance of crystallized logs that give
Petrified National Park its name. A trip to this park
and out of the way destination in sleepy northeastern Arizona
(01:32):
reveals a glimpse into the wild past more so than
any other national park. I mean, it feels like a
figurative time travel through this fossilized world. Yeah, that's absolutely true.
One thing I think is important to point out for
anyone coming here expecting some sort of forest, which is fair. Um,
(01:53):
you really shouldn't expect anything tropical or jungle like. This
isn't the year anymore fortunate Nowadays there really isn't anything
foresty whatsoever. And honestly, the only green thing you're likely
to see here is my cactus phone case. Well, you
have to tell everyone your phone case's name. Yeah, it's
(02:13):
cactus Jack is the name of my phone case? And
what name? I named it? After? A Mexican restaurant chain
that I remember seeing in New Hampshire growing up. I
don't know if it was beyond that, and I honestly
don't have to remember eating there, but apparently it left
enough of an impact that of now named my phone
case after it. Yeah, I guess you should probably get
back to the landscape though. Let's cut Yeah, let's get
(02:36):
back the landscape here. Petrified Forest is almost eerily quiet, really,
with not not many animals aside from the occasional crow,
which kind of fits this arid, barren landscape. But in
spite of its name, which sounds rather lush, Pretrified Forest
is a desert with mostly just sandstone and these gigantic
(03:01):
fallen logs that have been transformed over time into shimmering crystals.
That's not to suggest that it's all just dystopian and arid, though,
this this landscape is really rich with natural beauty and
of course plenty of Instagram opportunities. Yes, all those Instagram opportunities.
I mean the pictures that we got here are probably
(03:22):
some of my favorite from the beautiful Yeah, they're like,
it's a hauntingly beautiful area and it really comes out
well in photos. You don't really need to use filters
on Instagram for that hashtag no filter. Yeah exactly. Um. So,
in addition to dinosaur fossils and petroglyss left behind by
native people who used to live here, Petrified Forest is
(03:43):
ultimately a well preserved look at these mighty trees that
once thrived in this region when this part of Arizona
was a tropical terrain. Now these trees have long since
fallen um mostly due to raging rivers that toppled them
and ultimately wound up burying them in volcanic ash and
silt and thus fossilizing them over the course of hundreds
(04:06):
of millions of years. I mean, they really are the
stars of the show here at the Petrified Forest. I mean,
with some of the most densest concentration of logs seen
in the places like the Painted Desert, the Rainbow Forest,
the Giant Forest. All of us get their names from
how massive and colorful these logs are today. I mean
the Old Faithful for instance, not to be confused with
yellow stones. Main attraction is a looming giant log in
(04:29):
the Giant Forest. I mean it's as wide as a bus. Yeah,
it's huge. I mean we should really just throw it back.
I mean way back to how these logs came to be.
I mean, you're really better at describing that. Yeah, alright,
I'm gonna give you the Betty Crocker recipe version of
how petrified logs are formed. Um So, when these trees
fell and became buried in sediment and ash, that essentially
(04:51):
cuts off oxygen in the wood. Uh yeah, no more oxygen.
So eventually water will seep in and when it makes
us with the sediment, it forms silica in the ash
and begins this slow, long, drawn out process of transforming
the original tissue in the wood into rock. And along
the way, the silica turns into quartz and it gets
(05:13):
its colors based on various mineral content from things like
chromium and iron and carbon. And so fast forward a
couple hundred million years and that settlement is removed by
wind and these locks are now exposed as glistening, essentially
giant gems with colors like purple, green, blue. Basically, it's
(05:35):
a desert filled with these gigantic easter egg looking logs. Yeah,
I mean that process that lead the petrified forest. I
mean it's a lengthy and elaborate recipe from other nature,
just like you mentioned, I know, the results may sound
like they're stale or hard as rock, but they're beautifully
breathtaking and it's unlike anything else I've seen on Earth,
(05:57):
and we've again been well traveled, so it's one of
those things like it's just it's so beautiful. How this
park contains some of the most concentrated collections of petrified woods,
which people end up trying to steal, which is not
not okay, yeah, leave them be. Um. More so than
most parks, Petrified forests, for better or worse, is known
(06:20):
as kind of a drive through park. A lot of
people don't spend a ton of time here um, which
is kind of unfortunate because there's a lot to see,
but it's understandable. That's mostly due to the fact that
the park is not very huge to begin with. But
then it's bisected by this main park road and there
are two entrances, one on the north end, one on
(06:40):
the south end, and then you have this main park
road that goes right through it, with a few little
trails here and they're off that go off that road. Um.
But on the kind of positive side of that, it
is refreshingly straightforward and it makes it very easy to
navigate this park with very clear markers denoting hiking trails,
historic sites, and viewpoints along the way. It's compared to
(07:00):
a lot of other parks that are like yellow Stone
or Yosemite, which have like kind of a dizzying array
of entry points and it's a little overwhelming. So especially
for newbies who are visiting for the first time, Petrified
Forest is very doable and very welcoming in that way.
It's kind of it's not as intimidating. I found that
very refreshing trails. One of the musty stops for me
(07:36):
was the Blue Masa Trail. I mean, as easy as
the name is. It was located off the Blue Maza Road.
I mean, didn't we say it was pretty straightforward, very straightforward.
You know exactly where you're going with the Blue Maza Road,
and this one's located right in the middle of the park.
I mean the trail is an easy, like one mile loop,
but within a short distance it really packs a punch.
(07:57):
I mean the whole thing is paved, so starting out
along the Mesa ridge with sweeping views of the surrounding desert,
I mean you quickly get transformed in this trail and
you get to weave down into some colorful blad lands.
It's lit with tints of purples and blues, hence the name.
I know, right like a name. Yeah. I mean once
(08:19):
we reach the bottom, the trail loops through a forest
of petrified logs, many of them the size of boulders.
I mean, between the colors of the bad lands and
the petrified wood, this trail is as colorful as the
Las Vegas strip. I mean, no neon signs though, I mean,
it's no casino, just as colorful, just as colorful. I mean,
it's just a great place to, you know, get a
(08:41):
work call, which Matt did not like. Um, but when
you're helping guide and run a business, sometimes you have
to take those phone calls right in the middle of
a trail, right pabe Yeah. I mean one another pro
of this trail is it's a great trail for passive
aggressively storming away. Um. It's nice and flat, great for that.
Um yeah, I mean when you're not doing that, when
(09:02):
or not being annoyed. Uh, it's just a great stroll
to take photos and enjoy the starting scenery. And the
best part for us, what we loved the most was
being able to take our dog Finn. Yeah, Finn, he's
so amazing. I mean, watching Finny run is like watching
a t Rex on forefront arms, like, yeah, pretty much,
pretty much, so cute, so fun. And Finn he's a
(09:24):
he's a mini dogs and so he's he's not at
his fattest. He was thirteen pounds and it is right now,
he's about thirteen pounds. He's just a small, brown haired,
short haired minni docks in and he is our best
friend and our companion, and you know, whenever I'm feeling emotional,
he's always there for me. And Finn is really more
(09:46):
than just our dog. He's our friend and that's why
we really enjoy going to these national parks with him
and bringing him whenever. Really cool. But if there's bears
out there at Gators, we definitely stay away from Now
he stays in the air v But yeah, it was.
It's really great to be able to experience stuff like
this with him. And not all national parks are, like
(10:07):
you said, very dog friendly. Petrified Forest really is. It's
one of the most dog friendly parks in the system,
and it's cool to be able to take him out
with us and let him enjoy the scenery along with us,
and this is a great trail for him. The length
was ideal, it wasn't too long, not much elevation change,
so we could easily do it without getting too tired.
(10:27):
And also you could tell he was equally as obsessed
with a petrified wood as we were. Just beautiful things. Yeah,
luckily he didn't be on them. Oh yeah no. And
for you, this wasn't your first time hiking the Blue
Oh no no, this is my second time petrified forest,
and in particular, second time hiking the Blue Masa Trail.
And I can definitively say that this trail is definitely
(10:50):
within my top three favorite hiking trails of any national park,
which is a huge statement but well deserved, especially because
you love like te hike. Yeah, you're a small time
hiker like for me, this would be perfect for me
to name one of my top three. But yeah, it
is kind of surprising because I tend to like really
hardcore trails and I do long, drawn out hikes. I've
(11:12):
done them in so many different national parks, so this one,
I think it really indicates how amazing this short little
trail is. It's just so stunning from every vantage point,
and it's kind of place that when I'm hiking here alone,
like I did on my first trip here, it's I
can't help say things aloud to myself, just totally al
I'm like, oh jeez, and can you believe this view?
(11:33):
And I'm just like, he talks to himself more often
than he would like to admit, Like I'll catch him
talking to himself out loud and I'll be like, I
didn't say anything. I'm like, yes, Well, the thing is,
I think I'm muttering or I think I'm whispering under
my breath or something, but I guess I just I
whisper much louder than I think I do. So that's
what I've been. That's what I spent my whole time
(11:55):
the Blue Wings of Trail doing, um, which is you
can't help it. It's just so breathtaking like that. But
that being said, and and despite the fact that I'm
obsessed with this trail, you should know that Petrified Forest
is not really known as like a hiking mecca. There's
not a lot of hiking trails here. There are really
(12:15):
only seven official trails, and none of them are longer
than three miles in length, which it makes it a
very family friendly park. Very family friendly, nothing to store anyway,
especially for those road trips, you know, through the country
when you aren't those RVs. Yeah, exactly. And it's it
also makes sense why it's a drive through kind of
park because people can easily just meander through it, hop
off to a quick little trail here and there, and
(12:37):
continue on your way. And that's awesome. That's a great thing.
It's it makes it possible to do all pretty much
all the parks trails in one visit, in one afternoon,
and these trails do a great job of getting you
up close and personal with some of the most on
spiring petrified specimens and historic sites. You are listening to
the park Landed podcast from my Heart Radio, hosted by
(12:58):
Brad and Matt carrollac. We'll be back with more of
the Parklandia podcast from my heart Radio. I'm Matt and
I'm Brad. You were listening to the park Landed podcast
from my heart Radio. Man, or you tell me about that.
One highlight is the Giant Logs Trail. Like, isn't that
located right behind the Rainbow Forest Museum. Yeah? Yeah, the
Giant Logs Trail, as the the name is definitely kind
(13:20):
of an eyecatcher. It just sounds so larger than life,
incredible like it is. And yeah, it starts right behind
the Rainbow Forest Museum, which is absolutely worth a visit
as well for learning all about the dinosaur history here
in fossils Um. But the Giant Logs Trail has some
of the largest petrified logs anywhere on Earth, including Old Faithful,
(13:42):
and they're just it's mind blowing how massive these things were.
And to imagine what these things must have been like
when they were standing. They must have been the size
of like Sekoia trees or something. And now they're glistening
like gems pretty much, and that's amazing. But then something
for something completely different. There's the Puerco Pueblo Trail, also
(14:05):
an easy trail, it's only about point three miles round trip.
In this highlights another very important aspect of the park,
which is the history and ancient civilizations that once lived here.
I mean, it's really hard to imagine living in such
a seemingly barren landscape. I mean, yeah, I know nowadays
I can't imagine even like doing backcountry camping here. I
(14:26):
don't know how that would even work, but I believe
it or not. Some two thousand years ago or so,
whole communities used to thrive here and there. Uh yeah,
there are I can back it up. There are hundreds
of sites throughout the park with evidence um of these
ancient civilizations, some of which left behind petroglyphs and village
(14:46):
ruins that you can tour and look at marble apt
and you said, wuere will play blow where cool? Yes,
it's kind of it's tricky to say, where go Pueblo.
You kind of have to stay in slow motion to
get it right, especially for me. I'm horrible in their
own pronunciations. So you don't oh, you don't say, oh,
(15:10):
you're funny. Yes, that is it. It's just one of
the best places to witness history. I mean thanks to
like wealth preserved structures. Back then, hundreds of people lived
in the window loss and doorless web blows concentrated by
water sources. Ladder serves as their entry point, so no windows,
you're going down, yes, through a ladder. And these dwellings
were situated right around these central plazas, which were community
(15:33):
spaces for socializing and gathering. Yes, it's like rocky kind
of clay huts, no windows, no doors, um, and I mean,
obviously water is everything. You have to concentrate your living
accommodations by that. Yes, we learned that in Mace of Verdane.
Yeah we did, but we'll talk about that later. UM
(15:53):
quick side note UM relating to Puerco Pueblow. I remember
when I was here the first time, This was when
I was a little solo trip Um. I saw this
cautioning cautionary sign by the trailhead warning about dangerous bees
in the area, and I remember thinking, what a missed
opportunity it was not to say, be where the E
(16:14):
W A R E, Like, how many times in life
you're gonna have the opportunity to spell that out and
they didn't use it? Is very punny. Yeah, it was shocking. Um. Anyway,
I didn't see any dangerous bees, so it all worked out. Um.
Not far from Puerko play Blow is newspaper rock. Um
(16:35):
just down the street or down the main road, would say,
just a stone throw away, A stone throw from Puerko
play Blow. It's the This is definitely the best site
for viewing Petrick lifts in the park. There's such a
huge concentration of them here there. I think, honestly, there's
like more than six hundred or so petri lifts. UM.
And the amazing thing about petro lifts really anywhere you
see them, but particularly here in such a large amount,
(16:58):
they provide a mysteria is and fascinating little peak into
the past and what life must have been like for
this civilization. Now you're gonna have to tell me more
about this because when we went through I didn't really
get to go and see this, which I'm kind of
bummed out. But you know, the future is still possible,
and petroglyphs will be there in the future. Um. But yeah,
they're I'm obsessed with petroglyphs. They're so interesting. Uh, and
(17:20):
these ones in particular, UM. The National Park Service and
archaeologists have reached out to descendants of of people from
the Navajo Zuni Hopie people's to examine these petriclyphs and
see if they could translate any of them. Um. They
only recognize a few of them, so they're not able
(17:41):
to piece together what the meanings really were, what they
were trying to communicate. We can only guess really, were
they making symbols of spirituality? Where they stories? Where they warnings?
Were these prehistoric emojis? The world may never know. Yeah,
the original emojis. Oh man, maybe these uh will be
(18:01):
found when we discover why the ancestral pueblo from masa
Verde National Park left the city. Um, they built their
cities in the mountains and they vanished. But again, we'll
have to stay tuned for a future episode. Yes, sorry,
let's stay back to mark. I am so so beautiful.
Let's yeah put a pain and that fine? Okay, Well,
(18:23):
let's talk about these ancient civilizations that abandoned the area
for reasons unknown, much like mesa Verde and they I add.
But anyways, modern day people UM sought it out for
new reasons tourism I mean, after the train tracks were
laid through northeastern Arizona, local and national advocates sought to
capitalize on the area's unique geography by using the rails
(18:45):
to bring in tourists and to see that painted desert
I mean. Root sixty six directly passes through the present
day park as well, making it the only national park
that contains a section of that historic highway. Yes, and
as with so many other things in the modern day,
it was just a matter of seeing an opportunity to
make money, so they did in naturally, hotels and roadside
(19:08):
ends began to pop up around the area, including UM
something called the Painted Desert in which is within still
within the national park. It's now no longer an end,
it's a museum without lodging and UM. Of course, this
increased tourism and travelers um to the area brought its
(19:28):
own set of problems. In the case of petrified forests,
this meant people were talkting smaller pieces of petrified wood
to keep the souvenirs or I don't know, like colorful
paper weights or something. UM And of course, considering the
limitations of this geographic marvel, this is appalling. It is.
And we're going to talk about the curse of the
(19:48):
Petrified Forest folklore. We're talking about Petrified Forest National Park
this week, and we're starting to get into something a
little ominous. Yes, we are going to talk about the
curse of the Petrified Forest. You know, the one referenced
(20:10):
in Netflix show Dead to me about Yeah, I love
that show about how Steve damn you Steve. Yeah, So
there was this dialogue between Steve and UM, one of
the stars, Linda Cardilini. Um. Apparently Steve stole petrified wood
from Petrified Forest National Park and guess what handed up
(20:32):
dead in a swimming pool? Oops, spoiler alert just like that. Yeah,
let's not be like Steve. No, let's not be like Steve.
And sorry, bet you didn't think you'd be hearing about
dead to me spoilers on this podcast. But that's just
because clearly Netflix producers love the Petrified forests as much
as we do. And you know, this curse is serious stuff, Yeah,
(20:54):
very serious stuff. Thankfully we have park champions like John
Ware and Theodore Roosevelt to thank for protecting the petrified
wood for future generations and from future Steve's um so.
John Ware was the first to conduct a scientific excavation
of the landscape here and he worked with Roosevelt to
formally protect it, and ultimately than they did give him
(21:17):
Petrified Forest as National monument status before it eventually got
upgraded to a National park in the year nineteen sixty two,
and today about eight hundred thousand annual visitors come to
Petrod Forests to look rather than take, unless you want
to end up floating face down in that pool, yeah,
or you know, with a half define which is also
horrible because in twos and inten Congress allotted funds. Yeah,
(21:42):
in two thousand tents, so not that long ago. Congress
allotted funds for parking expansion, which essentially did double Petrified
Forest protected land. Um. Currently, the National Park Services working
in developing new regions which will open up potentially new trails,
more to explore, more to discuss or so really it
seems like the park is only going to get better
(22:03):
and better in the future, which is super exciting. Yeah,
this park was really easy to navigate with the r V,
but you have to leave at night because it's one
of the few parks with gates that close and lock
every night so people don't steal the petrified wood and
become cursed, you know. Like Steve, you're listening to the
park Landia podcast in my Heart Radio, hosted by Brad
(22:23):
and Matt Carrouac. We'll be back with more of the
park Landia podcast from my heart Radio My favorite Alright,
time for one of my favorite segments, Matt, what was
your favorite thing to do at Petrified Forest National Park? Well,
my favorite thing I feel like the obvious one of
(22:43):
the blue mas at because that's just amazing and I'm
obsessed with it. But I will I want to also
highlight the Rainbow Forest Museum. I think it's incredible, an
immersive and just very cool to see and learn more
about the dinosaurs and precaus or canials that used to
live here. When I was in the museum the first time, um,
(23:04):
there was this large mural, an installation that showed depicted
like the animals that were once here and what life
was like some two million years ago. And let me
just say, it look terrifying. I'm really thankful that it's
not still like that. Um, but it just it's insane
and incredible, and I just don't it's mind blowing to
(23:27):
imagine how this landscape can utterly change and transform like that,
even if it's been a couple hundred million years. Um. Right,
And well, we're like those three like essential items for
you because you've been here a couple of times, you
might be better than mine, but you never know. Yes,
I've been here a couple of times. UM. So if
there were three things that I would personally bring to
(23:47):
pitch fight for us, I would bring sunscreen. It's very sunny,
even if it's not super hot, it's very sunny, and
you're out in the wide open. There's no tree cover UM,
so that's important. I would also suggest layers like sweatshirts,
light jackets. Um. Again, the desert environment um can get
surprisingly chilly. And then, like we mentioned earlier, Petrified Forests
(24:10):
just one of the most dog friendly parks really in
the National park system. So you got to bring a dog, leash,
bring your dog, let them enjoy the trails with you.
Which that leads into my favorite thing was being able
to bring Finny on the trails with us and get
some of the most glorious Instagram photos out there. Um.
And if I had to remember three things is because
(24:31):
I'm nine percent of the time the driver, is we
would have to fuel up before going there. Yeah, the
thing I'd bring is my dog, Finning. And I would
definitely bring water um, not only for ourselves but for
Finning and our little like hiking dog bowl UM, so
that way Finney can get water around along the trail
(24:52):
and not get exhausted. UM. And we were talking about
this yesterday and I think pretty much touch our dream
vacation would be this larger, bigger than life root sixty
six American road trip UM, much like the one we're taking.
I mean, bring friends or dogs and energy to recharge
in the space that you're visiting. I mean that that
(25:13):
is what the American dream really is, is to do
what we're doing. And we're so thankful that we get
this opportunity um and support from the people around us. Yeah.
And I think it's so poetic and perfect too, that
route Route sixty six, this kind of quintessentially American thoroughfare,
happens to go right through Petrified Forest National Park And
(25:34):
really it doesn't get more all American than a National
park either. So it's so ideal and so perfect, and
it would be really a dream to do all overout
sixty six as this kind of Americana drive um, and
just the opportunity to be able to stop off and
Petrified Forests and do some hikes and learn about dinosaurs
(25:56):
and petrock lists. It's all. It's all wonderful, all very
doable and highly recommended. You've been listening to park Landia.
The show was created by us Matt and Brad Carollac
along with Christopher hesiotis Our executive producer is Christopher hasiotis
produced and edited by Mike Johnes. If you're not already subscribed,
(26:17):
you can make sure you never miss an episode by
subscribing to the show on Apple podcast, the I Heart
Radio app, or anywhere you get your podcasts. We take
a lot of pictures in the road. Follow us at
park landia podcast dot com and on Facebook and Instagram
at park Landia Podcast. Special thanks to Gabrielle Collins, Crystal Waters,
and the rest of the park Landia crew, but we
(26:37):
always want to thank you for listening.
Parklandia News
Hosts And Creators
Brad Kirouac
Matt Kirouac
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