America's Best Idea

Petrified Forest National Park

During February break, we planned a trip to explore Arizona. We knew it was Presidents' Day weekend, so we expected some crowds, but we were surprised to find out that spring training was also in full swing. The car rental lines at the airport were crazy long, so we decided to take an Uber to an offsite rental location instead. This saved us hours of waiting.

It was our first time in Arizona together, and we stayed in Sedona for a few nights. The place was so beautiful, and there were so many outdoor activities that I wished we could stay longer. I'd love to go back, but definitely not during Presidents' Day weekend!

We hiked two popular trails in Sedona, including Devil's Bridge and Boynton Canyon Trail. Devil's Bridge, the largest natural sandstone arch in the area, is known for its stunning views. People have been known to wait up to an hour to have their photo taken on Devil's Bridge, but our timing was just right, and we only waited a few minutes to capture the shot. While we were in the parking lot, we met a local guy who asked about our hikes and plans. When we mentioned we were heading to Petrified Forest National Park, he suggested we stop by Walnut Canyon and Meteor Crater on the way. We took his advice and were really glad we did. Meeting people who share helpful travel tips is one of the best parts of traveling.

Walnut Canyon is a cool spot with ancient cliff dwellings built by the Sinagua people. The park has only two trails, and we opted for the Rim Trail, an easy, paved path that overlooks the canyon. It's mind-blowing to think about how long these cliff dwellings have been there and how they've stood the test of time.

Meteor Crater was another fascinating stop. It's the best-preserved meteorite impact site on Earth, almost a mile wide and 550 feet deep, formed around 50,000 years ago. The visitor center has some interesting exhibits, and you can get a great view of the crater from the observation deck. We could even see Humphreys Peak in the distance, Arizona's highest point. I started dreaming about coming back to summit it one day.

We also stopped in Winslow, Arizona, on historic Route 66. While standing on the famous corner, Tim got a phone call. When asked where he was, he replied, "I'm standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona." We took some pictures, checked out the gift shop, and listened to The Eagles' music before hitting the road again.

Petrified Forest National Park was the 48th park I've visited. This park is small but full of unique landscapes and ancient history. The park contains one of the world's largest collections of petrified wood, where trees have turned to stone over millions of years. It's surprising how colorful petrified wood is, with sharp, rainbow-like patterns created by minerals like manganese and iron oxides.

We hiked the historic Blue Forest Trail, and it felt like we had the entire place to ourselves since we were the only ones on the trail. It was a warm, windy day, and the trail took us through some incredible scenery. We saw petrified logs scattered along the path, beautiful blue and green clay hills, and colorful badlands known as the Painted Desert, which date back to the Triassic Period.

One of the highlights was seeing an old abandoned car from the Route 66 era and the Agate Bridge, a petrified log that spans a small gully.

Petrified Forest is known as a paleontologist's playground, with plant and animal fossils from when Arizona was a prehistoric swampy rainforest where dinosaurs and large reptiles roamed. There's a myth that removing pieces of petrified wood from the park brings bad luck, similar to the storyline in "The Brady Bunch" when Peter takes a tiki idol from Hawaii and trouble follows. Many people have returned stolen wood along with apology letters, leading park officials to create a "conscience pile" of these returned items.

Exploring Petrified Forest was an amazing experience, and the variety of landscapes we saw throughout Arizona—from the natural arch of Devil's Bridge to the massive hole in the ground at Meteor Crater, the ancient cliff dwellings of Walnut Canyon, and the view of Humphreys Peak—made it a trip to remember. I'm already looking forward to returning someday to hike Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona.