Today reached a high of 24C under a few cirrus clouds, a
great day for a ride.
We headed for the Petrified Forest just 20 miles to the east
of the campground. There was some great
views of the pink hills when we entered and as we ventured into the park more
we started to see the remnants of trees that lived over 225 million years ago.
So you may ask “How do the trees become petrified?” Well
here is the educational section of this blog.
The trees would fall into the swollen stream away back then and
they would be washed into the adjacent flood plains. A mix of silt, mud, and
volcanic ash buried the logs. The sediment cut off the oxygen and slowed the
decay process. Silica-laden groundwater seeped through the logs and replaced
the original wood tissues with silica deposits. Eventually the silica
crystallized into quartz, and the logs were preserved as petrified wood.
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| So, can you tell which is older? |
When in the Ranger Station we found out that the Park is strict
about not taking any souvenirs out of the park other that from the gift store. One
area that was known as the Crystal Forest had the ground area all a glitter
with pieces and now there is next to none. They figure they lose one ton of
petrified wood per month from the park.
One section we saw had petroglyphs.
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| Cathy's pet petrified wood - I think she is going to call it Woody! |
On the move again
tomorrow..
