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The Crystal Forest is a section of Petrified Forest National Park that was once covered with petrified logs, many of which contained beautiful quartz or amethyst crystals. Many of the petrified logs disappeared before the park was established, but enough remain to show the beauty in the park.

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This is a view of the Painted Desert as seen from Blue Mesa in the Petrified Forest National Park. The mesa gets its name from the layers of blue clay that make it up. Some of that blue clay can be seen in the valley below the mesa.

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We came upon this view of the Painted Desert while on a short hike at Kachina Point in Petrified Forest National Park.



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My Blogging Muse has become about as dry and unproductive as our yard and garden, so Betsy and I have decided to take a blogging break. I'm not sure what (if anything) we'll do other than trying to keep our roses and other plants alive. If my Muse cooperates, I'll be back the last week of September.

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The day we visited Petrified Forest National Park was about as perfect as a day could be -- a clear blue sky with a few white clouds and bright sunshine lighting up every color and hue of the Painted Desert. This picture was taken at Tawa Point.

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These are some of the petroglyphs we saw at Puerco Pueblo in the Petrified Forest National Park. The pueblo was built around 1250 and may have been home to 1000 people. There are several locations along the trail through the pueblo from which petroglyphs can be seen.

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The Tepees is a section of cone-shaped multicolored rock formations in the southern portion of the Petrified Forest National Park. The Tepees contain layers of blue and gray in addition to the reds, whites and pinks seen in other parts of the Painted Desert.



To see a drawing based on this picture, click HERE.

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Nizhoni Point was the last overlook we visited in the northern (Painted Desert) part of the Petrified Forest National Park. The colors were just as vibrant and breath-taking as they were at the first overlook.

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On our second evening at the Grand Canyon we were able to enjoy a sunset from Mather Point. The light and shadows in the canyon itself were unbelievably beautiful, and the sky turned a beautiful gold-red as the sun sank lower toward the horizon.

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The Tepees is an area of the Petrified Forest National Park dominated by cone-shaped rock formations. The formations contain layered blues, purples and grays in addition to the colors found in other portions of the park. The Tepees are in the southern section of the park between Newspaper Rock and Blue Mesa.

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This picture of the Painted Desert was taken at Kachina Point in the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.

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This is a picture of our first view of the Grand Canyon. We entered the park from the east because we had read that end of the park offered the best views of the Colorado River. This picture was taken at the Desert View overlook.

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The Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark was originally built as a trading post, inn and restaurant for travelers along Route 66 in Arizona. It was originally built of petrified wood and other native stone in the 1920s. The building was extensively remodeled in the Pueblo Revival style during the late 1930s by the CCC. The inn now serves as a museum in the Petrified Forest National Park.

If you would like to see what this photo looks like as a drawing, click HERE.

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The first stop in Arizona while on our trip west was the Petrified Forest National Park. After stopping at the Painted Desert Visitor Center, we drove to Tiponi Point, where we got our first view of the beautiful Painted Desert.

If you would like to see what the photograph above looks like as a line drawing, click HERE.