Petrified Forest National Park

Stop number two on our trip was Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. We were supposed to spend two days learning at the park but opted to spend one of those days exploring the cable channels our hotel offered;) When we arrived I asked how long it took most people to move through and was given the answer of 2-4 hours. YAY! Our cable laziness did not impact our learning! We took eight hours because of hiking and Athena's newfound interest in petrified wood and learning, "ALL of the things." While I was excited for her to learn, I must admit geology is her interest, not mine but I did enjoy hiking with each of the girls. 

There were petroglyphs, kiva foundations and gorgeous views but mainly it is a drive through park. We started the Jr. Ranger book and completed all but two pages, including the pages geared at older kids, more than we needed to complete for a six year old. When we went to the museum to turn in her book the ranger made us do the two last pages (which were based on the museum and fossils.) I was down to my last diaper, literally the one on Lex's butt and needed to drive to Holbrook, 30 minutes away to get diapers. I was not amused. Athena dealt with it like a champ and Lex was a trooper, thanks to being mostly potty trained.

The best experience we had on this leg of the trip was talking to the archeologists and geologists who were staying at our hotel. They were uncovering a few kivas and sites prior to a road going in. One of the archeologists was Native American and not thrilled with the home of her ancestors being demolished for progress. She was very kind and Athena liked her very much, she invited us to their dig site as a field trip. We were excited. That night the girls wound up with food poisoning so we had to miss. Athena was heartbroken.

PFNP is a decent park and a great way to break up a longer drive but I would not go out of my way to travel to this park unless you have an intense interest in petrification. I would rate it a 6/10. Athena rates it as a 9 out of 10... 

We spent the morning hiking and had a blast doing so! 

We were learning about minerals and various things which created the color changes in the layers. I will be honest, Athena could easily tell me some of this and I'm over here typing having no clue what any of it means. 

Petrified wood! Yeah, we learned about silica, water and wood over time the minerals crystalize within the wood... Or something like that... I can appreciate the beauty and hikes but I'm not a fan of the science behind petrification. 

Toddler was pretty hungry at this point. 

Exploring in the dirt... Welcome to childhood. 

PFNP may have gained five kid points with climbing on logs alone. 

Athena: They have NO dinosaurs. They have reptiles and amphibians and protomammals but NO dinosaurs. I like learning about the wood. It needs ash from volcanoes and water to become petrified. The water has minerals. My mom would not buy me a book on the wood. She told me to save my money for it and to order on Amazon.