Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Painted Desert from Petrified Forest Park Road - Petrified Forest National Park


We continued our brief March 2018 visit to Petrified Forest National Park by completing the scenic drive along Petrified Forest Road. Once north of Interstate 40, the vistas are of the Painted Desert. The park has been enlarged numerous times to include most of the land that is visible from the overlooks along the road. The wayside exhibit for Lacey Point includes this quote from John Fletcher Lacey, a Congressman from Iowa:
There are other petrified forests, but this is The Petrified Forest of the World

Lacey Point


Wayside exhibit

View west toward Flat Top Butte, Rotten Bananas Butte, and Long Butte

Pintado Point

Pilot Rock

Pintado Point


Sidewalk to the point

Pilot Rock

Lithodendron Wash

Rain in the distance

View north of Lithodendron Wash and Black Forest

View northwest

Kachina Point


Painted Desert Inn

Painted Desert

Between Tawa Point and Tiponi Point


Parallel parking at the pullout

Red clay badlands

More badlands in the Painted Desert

Painted Desert

A closer look

A tributary of Lithodendron Wash

Tiponi Point


Wayside exhibits and viewing platform

Eroded red clay hills

Painted Desert

A closer view

Entrance to Petrified Forest National Park requires an entry fee of $20 per passenger vehicle for a 7-day pass. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used instead.

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/pefo.

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