I had meant to combine a visit to Petrified Forests National Park, tucked away in the north-eastern corner of Arizona, along with Grand Canyon during the spring of 2020. But Covid had put a stop to those grandiose plans. Nevertheless I found myself at the entrance of this Park one year later. It is one of those Parks that you can only visit and explore during the daylight hours, unless you were the few who chose to spend the night under the stars in the vast backcountry wilderness. But on this trip, I hadn't carried any gear to do so, and I chose to remain one of the daytrippers.

I wasn't sure what to expect of Petrified forests, apart from actually seeing petrified wood which I did. But I also found colorful badlands made of layers of blue clay, a desert-like landscape with large swathes of red color painted over, and crystalline wood still resembling buried logs but in various shades of blue, white, green and other colors. After seeing all these, I had wished I could have spent the night to experience this vast desert landscape after dark.

This vista showcases the Painted Desert, one of the likely choices for backcountry camping in the park. With no freshwater available, you would have to haul everything in and out yourself - and that is not for the casual traveler.

Petrified Forests National Park
AZ USA