Petrified Forest

On March 17, 2011 (St. Paddy's Day!) my parents and I went up to Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook. The weather was warm, but insanely windy (gusts over 40 mph), so we didn't walk all of the interpretive trails at the park. It's a bizarre place, almost making you think you're on another planet with beautifully stark scenery of the Painted Desert with fossilized trees being the only reminder that the landscape was once a lush forest. The dominant species of tree they think comprises most of the specimens is from the Araucariaceae family of conifers, with present-day representatives including the odd monkey-puzzle tree. On many of the trunk cross-sections you can make out the growth rings on these trees. Here are lots of photos of the petrified wood:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The park also has several rock panels covered in ancient indian petroglyps and pithouse ruins. It's interesting trying to interpret the meaning of what they were drawing:

 

 

Some views of the Painted Desert at the northern edge of the park. The first photo is of one of the interpretive signs showing the extent of the Painted Desert, from the Grand Canyon region north of Flagstaff down to the St. Johns area. The desert gets its name from the colorful mineral deposits and sediment layers across the landscape:

 

 

 

Ephedra species, a member of the Phylum Gnetophyta of the gymnosperms, the old plant group that also includes conifers, ginkgo, and cycads. The gnetophytes pre-date the flowering plants and have traits showing a common ancestry, including vessels in the xylem tissue for more efficiently conducting water and nutrients, and double fertilization in the reproductive organs despite still having cones instead of true flowers and fruit:

Three-leaf sumac (Rhus trilobata) flowering before the leaves have even sprouted:

Common Raven with basal neck feathers exposed by the wind. Most bird books show this species with darker base feathers and not this light-colored. If I saw this in southern Arizona I would think it was a Chihuahuan Raven if not for the proportion of the feathers over the bill (a trait to separate them besides neck color; Chihuahuan Ravens supposedly have more white-ish bas feathers):

A metal sculpture at one of the visitor centers in the shape of one of the petroglyph depictions of a cougar (presumably). This had us in hysterics based on the genitalia, weird looking toes, and the apparent "sad" facial expression. What the hell was happening to this cat they were depicting?