Blue Mesa
Yesterday: Crystal Forest
This continues the documentation of our recent trip to the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.
Probably the most beautiful area of the park that we saw was the Blue Mesa area, which is a looped drive that you have to leave the main road for, and has a couple of trails in it. Of course, all this beautiful scenary around us, and I decided to take a picture of my shadow first.
Much cooler than my shadow, admittedly.
In this area, erosion has created badland-like features, but at the same time it has uncovered large pieces of petrified wood. The petrified wood is harder than the sedimentary rock beneath it, so it remains even as the mountain is washed away beneath it. Eventually, this petrified logs will roll down the side of the formations and crash into pieces at the bottom.
Just in case you were thinking of taking a step off a five hundred foot drop.
There are signs in the area commanding visitors not to feed the wildlife, but it I think it's clear that someone has been feeding these birds. Two ravens adopted us and followed us from pull-off to pull-off, showing very little fear of humans. Of course, they looked about thirty pounds and had little cause to fear anything. Or maybe they just liked the PT Cruiser.
I ignored the warning sign and walked out onto a sheer ledge to take these shots, much to Strix's dismay, but I got some great pics. If I had fallen to my death, the camera may still have been salvagable, so it would have been worth it.
Strix getting up close and personal to get a picture of one of the ravens. She's about two feet from it here.
Tomorrow: Tepees and Puerco Pueblo
