Living Stone: in the Painted Desert
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
In 1540, an expedition under Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1510 - 1554), on a quest to find the Seven Cities of Cibola, passed through this region naming it "El Desierto Pintado" - The Painted Desert.
It's a landscape defined by a tapestry of colors in the stratified layers of the Triassic Chinle Formation; a landscape shaped by wind and water. Found In this landscape are the remains of forests, long petrified, dinosaurs fossils, and more than 600 identified archeological sites, including examples of early human habitation.
The best place to experience the Painted Desert is in Petrified Forest National Park. The park's headquarters is about 26 miles (42 km) east of Holbrook, Arizona along Interstate 40 (I-40), and historic U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park roughly east–west. The park, the northern part of which extends into the Painted Desert, was declared a national monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962.
Blue Mesa Trail
To experience and view the Painted Desert as Coronado's expedition did, the Blue Mesa Trail is a natural starting point. Located on Blue Mesa Scenic Rd., the trail is a 1-mile (1.6 km) loop, beginning at the sun shelter on the mesa, which quickly descends to the valley floor. This is a relatively easy trail for walking for most of its length, but there is a steep grade at beginning of trail which can make it more challenging for some people.
Looking into the valley floor from the sun shelter, at the beginning of the trail, it's easy to see the tapestry of colors and shapes below. The bentonite hills below show a distinct layering of reds, yellow and lavender.
Looking back to the beginning of the trail is a reminder of what must be conquered at the end of the hike. What goes down, must come back up.
Walking along the trail, the thick deposits of red, gray, blue and lavender bentonite clay was a reminder of the ancient landscape around me. Bentonite usually forms from weathering of volcanic ash, most often in the presence of water.
Bentonite deposits along the trail make it obvious that landscapes can change dramatically here. The clay easily crumbles under foot.
It was surprising that on this holiday weekend (Memorial Day) that I saw and passed very few people on the trail.
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