We started heading home on December 31st from Cottonwood, Arizona. We drove 200+ miles to the Petrified Forest & Painted Desert National Park in Northeastern Arizona.
There was a large piece of petrified wood right there by the entrance so Dad and I posed for a picture before we went to the visitor's center.
We drove to the visitor's center and there we experienced a real surprise. The park rangers made me a "Bark Ranger". They gave me a certificate, a guide, and paid me with puppy biscuits to go out a help people enjoy the wonders of the park.
We left to start exploring the Painted Desert part of the park. Our first stop was at Tiponi Point, our first look at the Painted Desert.
The next stop was at Tawa Point.
Then we decided to take a hike on the Painted Desert Rim Trail.
We stopped at the Agate Bridge, a huge 110-foot tree that fell across a gully some 200 million years ago, where it remained until it became stone. It began to deteriorate, so park rangers kept it from falling into pieces by building a concrete base beneath it.
Lastly, we explored the Crystal Forest, one of the largest collections of petrified logs in the world.
After we left the national park, we drove another 100+ miles to Gallup, New Mexico, arriving just at dark.
Tomorrow we are continuing East and plan to explore Blue Lake State Park, in New Mexico😃.
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