Arizona’s Painted Desert & Petrified Forest
Welcome to Arizona’s Painted Desert! Of all the places we went to, this was my favorite! I have never seen anything this beautiful without seeing trees, plants, grass or water. Living in Ohio we have plenty of beautiful places to see, but nothing like this! The Painted Desert is 160 miles long and 93,500 acres!
I had no idea what lies ahead.
I thought this was pretty but just wait.
Another perfect day to see such beautiful sites.
It gets better the further we drive.
We stopped at the visitors center for more great views.
My husband immediately headed for the scenic views.
In this picture and the next, you can see how far the Painted Desert goes.
I took pictures from the side of the lookout.
These pictures only look half as colorful as it was in person.
Every picture is in a different area along the driving path.
There was so much color it didn’t even look real!
I hated to leave the Painted dessert but I was excited to see the Petrified Forest.
That is a piece of petrified wood in the front.
They cut petrified wood edging pieces which I thought was clever.
I was excited to see these!
There were rocks all over the place and we had to stand up on a sectioned off area making it hard to see them.
Then I saw this, so cool!
Look at how the color has changed.
Just gorgeous, we could have driven through it again!
You are not allowed to take any petrified wood home, regardless of the size.
This is what it used to look like. This picture was a placard.
How it looks today.
If you look in the middle of the picture, the right third you can see four people hiking.
I love the layers in the rock.
They all look the same but different.
The petrified wood is scattered all around.
This is a large petrified wood log.
I wonder when it was cut into pieces.
On our way out of the park.
You can still see all the pieces of petrified wood.
My last picture of the petrified wood.
Both the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest did not disappoint!
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Categories: Vacation
A glorious gallery well photographed
You are so kind Derrick, thank you!
Nature is amazing! I can’t believe how far the desert seems to go and go! Great images, Linda xx
I agree Linda! The desert did go on forever, just so beautiful! Have a great weekend.
Very nice 👍🏼- I was born in Arizona and never been to either place. I went fishing with my uncle does that count 😂😂 – Every year he put in his name to hunt elk and his # was always drawn – my aunt hated it as he never took it to a butcher but rather she butchered it. He lived a long time 97 years.
That’s too bad maybe someday you can get there. That is hilarious about your aunt. 97 is amazing, my mother in law is 96.
Great photos!
Thank you so much! I love you poems!
Awe thank you.
You’re welcome!
in my visits to Arizona, I’ve never been to either of these places, but I’ve always been fascinated by them
I was fascinated by them too Beth, which is why I told my husband we HAD to see both.
Diane, these pictures are beautiful! And I can sense your excitement. I have never seen the Painted Desert, but now I want to! I am glad you pointed out the 4 hikers as I did not realize the scale. Thank you for your post!
You’re welcome Betty and yes I was so excited to share this beautiful site. Do try to go someday, it is worth it. My pictures didn’t do the colors justice, it is so beautiful.
Arizona’s topography is some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories, Diane💜
I wish we could have been able to go down into the rocks to see more but then it would probably get destroyed. I was happy to see the one rock we did see, so fascinating! You’re very welcome Jonetta!
Thank you Ned!
Nature is truly amazing and the views are so amazing. Incredible to think how long this landscape stretches for. You and your hubby had such an amazing roadtrip with so many wonderful sights. I’m very happy for you both and look forward to you sharing your updates with us every Wednesday!
Thank you so much Ab! I always wonder if it will look the same in 100 years or stay the same.
Hopefully it’ll still be the same. Deserts and rocks are a good reminder of what a small blip in time our existence is. 😊💕🙏
Thank you for this masterful post of letting us join you in the dessert and petrified forest – I enjoyed every photo and like how your info was short and the post flowed so well. The touchable petroglyphs are so cool – and the four hikers really let you feel the scale of the place.
Thank you for you kind words Yvette!
Very cool. We have something similar, it is called the “painted mine.” Local tribes used the colored clay for decoration, etc. We also have petrified redwood stumps up to 14′ wide. I don’t blame your husband, run to the scenic views.
Thank you Danny! We bought a vase in Sedona that was made by the Indians using horse hair, I love it! 14’ wide is huge!!! My dad gave me a piece of petrified would, about 6” long, when I was young. They didn’t have the restrictions on them back then or he hid it. Lol
Diane, your pictures brought back such a great memory. One thing my husband always said about driving places, was you saw things you never would have seen if you flew. We drove to Phoenix probably, 15 or 16 years ago and stopped at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. Amazing natural phenomenon.
Once you see the Painted Desert you never forget it. It is so mind boggling to think it has been there for so long. I made photo books of the entire vacation as soon as we got home. I wish the colors would have looked as good as it did in person.
I agree, Diane. The colours blew me away. I didn’t know they existed either. On that same vacation we went to the Grand Canyon (flew over it in a small plane) and Sedona to see the red rock formations. I was in awe how gorgeous everything was.
Years ago my parents went to the Grand Canyon and took a helicopter ride, mom got motion sickness and will never do it again. I would love to do it but my husband is afraid of heights so I would have to go alone.
One of the reasons I loved my husband so much was just that, Diane. He was afraid of heights and hated to fly. I was so shocked when he said he would do it with me. It was the last time I got him up in the air though.
Awe, well that just made the memory better!
These are two amazing parks. I had no idea of the scope of the Painted Desert!
It was huge and so beautiful! I loved that they had places to pull off the road and take pictures too.
That is amazing – both places and the colors of the Painted Desert sure did not disappoint. I can see why you were infatuated with the view and also with the petrified wood, the petrolyphs and the interesting story of how that petrified wood fell down and fell apart, literally shattered. Years ago when I went to the Wyandotte Street Fair, there was a woman who made tables out of petrified wood – the tables were low to the ground, like a coffee table. And, this was in the late 70s/early 80s and the table was $3,000.00+ at that time. But it was beautiful, that’s for sure. I am enjoying your pictures and how you are recounting this trip Diane.
I can’t imagine how much that table weighed, it had to be super heavy! It was funny because as soon as we got outside of the park, the people with house by there were selling pieces of the petrified wood.
That’s interesting because they probably went in there illegally and took some pieces from the park and broke them up to sell them? I don’t remember anything else in that tent but the table and it was big.
Incredible parts of the USA. They are mind-blowing!
There sure is Neil! We decided we won’t go out of the country until we see all that is here to see. Have a great day!
We enjoyed our visit to this place too – the earth tells a story! And the vibrant hues of the painted desert – yes, you have to experience it!
I loved the painted desert more than the Grand Canyon because all the colors are so beautiful!
A wonderful post, Diane your images are beautiful and reading post I could feel your wonder at what you were seeing…Spectacular 🙂
Thank you Carol, it was a wonderful vacation!
Wow, such great pictures.
Thank you Michael it was such a delightful trip!
I am headed to Madison, Wisconsin in about a month with my youngest daughter to go see my oldest daughter. I am looking forward to it.
Oh that will be fun! I can’t believe you have an older daughter!
Yes, she is 25 years old. My youngest is 19. They grew up so fast.
They sure do! My son just turned 43 and my daughter is 34.
So cool!! If I didn’t know better I’d say the pictures weren’t real. I know they are real they are just so cool looking they look fake if that makes sense.
Oh yes it makes sense. It didn’t feel real even seeing it in person. I have never seen anything like it. Now you know why the Painted Desert was my favorite place to see in a 13 day trip.
Those colours in the Painted Desert are pretty amazing (and if it’s so beautiful in photos, it must be a spectacle to see it with your own eyes). And it was so interesting to read about the petrified wood. Beautiful post Diane – I really enjoyed it!
I didn’t want to leave the Painted Desert. Every stop looked different but everything was so beautiful. Thank you!
We visited the Painted Desert some years back, and found it fascinating!
I agree it was so fascinating and beautiful.
This is great because our family goes to national parks for family vacations. This summer it was Utah, which is a national park in itself! Maybe for Thanksgiving or Christmas break we’ll see these sites. AZ is totally within our driving range. Excellent. Thank you!
What a fun vacation! I hope you can make it, it is so beautiful. Do you camp or stay in a hotel?
Wow that place looks amazing, it is on my list of National Parks to visit! Loved your photos 🙂
I loved both of these parks, such colorful scenery.
What a beautiful place! Thanks for sharing. I have never been there but B has. I hope to go some day! Karla/Clampetts
I hope you can see it someday, something I will never forget.