Our latest National Park was Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, Arizona. To be honest, we stopped here because it was halfway on our route from White Sands to our next destination. Well, we’re really glad we did! This park was beautiful and full of history with ancient ruins at Puerco Pueblo and several sites full of petroglyphs. We even encountered a raven that was helping keep the park clean by picking up a blue plastic straw!

Most of the park was driving (it’s a long road with a few pull offs of attractions and hiking spots). We did do a few hikes out of the truck, including a longer hike around Blue Mesa. We started on the top of the hill, walked to the bottom, and then back up. This was really beautiful to see all the layers within the rock as we descended. Plus, the sky was so blue! We saw some petrified logs at the bottom that Kai and Reya could get a closer look at and feel. They seemed to enjoy themselves (before Reya’s legs got SO tired she could barely get back up the hill). This was a quick stop for a National Park, but it was well worth it!