A Step Back in Time

Thursday we spent the day at Petrified Forest National Park, located in the painted desert of Arizona.

Here the kids worked hard to earn their Junior Ranger badges.  We spent quite a bit of time learning and researching in the visitors center.

We also took a walk to look at the petrified wood. 

We then drove through the Painted Desert.  It was beautiful to see all the layers of colored dirt deposited.

We took two short walks to see some more petroglyphs. 

On one walk we encountered this guy.

 

Isn’t he amazing?  I’ve never seen anything like it… here he was just sitting on the edge of the walkway almost posing for a picture.  He was the highlight of my day.  Look at his vibrant colors and those long toes. 

It was a really fun day as we saw lots of neat and different things.  We then drove to the Grand Canyon.  We set up our tent by flashlight.  Friday we will wake up and spend the day at the Grand Canyon.  We will spend the entire day here and a second night of camping here as well before heading off for Mesa Verde National Park.