Saturday, May 27, 2017, Blue Mesa Morning

We would have preferred really early morning light, like sunrise, but the Petrified Forest National Park did not open until 7:00 am (about 2 hours after sunrise at this time of year). As you can see we were first in line to get into the park.

I think the color was a bit richer, but it was subtle.

The Blue Mesa hike was pretty special since we were alone. The absolute silence was almost eerie. There was just a hint of a breeze which was quite a change from our last visit where the wind almost blew us over. All of the trails in the park were dog-friendly, so Sam enjoyed some exercise as well.

When a petrified tree was exposed it would fracture into segments. Eventually, the tree segments would cascade down the ravine that was responsible for the revealing erosion. I have no idea how many years the tree below had been exposed but I suspect it first saw daylight again long before there was a National Park.

As we were wrapping up our hike and heading up the hill, we saw two folks who had just walked down the hill. They were somehow disappointed (before even starting the loop) and asked if it got any better. We answered in the affirmative and mentioned one of the best specimens was just a few feet away.

They took a few seconds to check it out and immediately headed back up forgoing the hike. It was even more puzzling when we found after talking to them that they had driven so far to reach this unique place. I hope that they found some part of the park that was worth their visit. We enjoyed it all!