Democratic Vistas

Petrified Forest

July 20, 2010 (afternoon)

After lunch, I headed to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park. This is basically two parks in one. You can see both the petrified forest and the painted desert. Either one would be worthy of its own park.

As I drove toward the park, I saw a number of roadside souvenir shops selling petrified wood. I guess that this is wood found outside the park. I didn’t stop, so I don’t know how much a piece of petrified wood costs. I guess you never know when you might need some petrified wood. It seems like these businesses would have a limited lifespan. I can’t image that these business people could keep finding more petrified wood.

I’m glad that I visited the park. I have always been fascinated with petrified wood. I don’t know why. It must be related to some forgotten childhood trauma.