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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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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.