I hope you will forgive me as I didn’t have the time to write a full-blown article this week. My girlfriend Dani and I decided to visit Sedona, Arizona over Christmas. We hiked the towering red rock landscapes and visited a few of its natural wonders.
Today, we made the trip to Petrified Forest National Park. Wow! What an experience. Now, if you’re looking for a beautiful scenic landscape to take Instagram pictures and show your friends how outdoorsy you are, this isn’t for you. It was less of a picturesque vibe like you might get at Yellowstone or Glacier and more of, what I would call, a window into the past.
What do I mean by that?
Half the park is a forest. Only it’s not a forest in the way you’re thinking. It’s a 218 million-year-old forest that’s been “petrified” by mineral deposits and ash then resurfaced as the rock around the buried tree got weathered away. It’s truly an ecological wonder of the world.
The other half of the park is filled with archeological sites from American cultures dating back 13,000 years. Structures that once contained 100 rooms. Beautiful and creative wall paintings of animals, people, and stars called petroglyphs. Some of these sites are older than the pyramids.
Most National Parks are physically challenging. This is the first one that will challenge you spiritually and help you to remember that you’re only a small step in the grand scheme of earth’s geology and its people’s history.
Alright, that’s all. Happy New Year!