Day 67: Petrified Forest National Park in eastern Arizona not only has a lot of large petrified tree trunks, but it is special because much of them are “agatized” (the development of the mineral crystals in the petrified wood has advanced to a colorful gemlike state rather than just looking like the original wood). The brittle petrified tree trunks have been broken into sections over the ages, the way a candy cane snaps if you try to bend it. The scenery in the park included bands in the eroded sedimentary rock. At the Painted Desert visitor center we chatted with a Navajo woman who told how she died wool from various local plants.
Day 68: Canyon de Chelly is unusual among National Monuments because the canyon is not only valued for its scenery and ancient ruins, but it still provides homes and a living for an active Native American community. Unlike the Sinagua sites, which were only occupied for one or two centuries, Canyon de Chelly has been the home of various native people nearly continuously for the last 2000 years (and it was visited sporadically or seasonally for several millennia before that). We hiked down into the canyon in the morning guided by a ranger and an intern, who showed us ruins and pictographs and described the history of the people in the canyon.
For lunch we sampled the local cuisine of roast mutton, white corn stew, and frybread at the weekly market in town. In the afternoon we viewed the tall sandstone spire called Spider Rock in the upper canyon, joined a geology walk, then hiked down to the canyon floor to view the White House Ruin.
Mesa Verde sounds like a place not to miss! We only did the hike to the White House Ruin, not the guided tour. Sounds like we will need to go back and see more!