Petrified Forest National Park of Arizona

In 2020, I moved from California to Oklahoma with my husband and small children (at the time, the kids were 3.9 years old, 1.5 years old, and 3.5 months old). Though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend making such a long trip while recovering from childbirth while a global pandemic is occurring, I often find myself looking back to this trip in awe: partly because of how much strength and courage that took for my family and me to do, and partly because I saw parts of the country on the I-40 that I had only dreamed of seeing. 

One of these daydream locations was the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. I had been told some stories about it as a child and I dreamed of visiting ever since. I loved collecting geodes and fossils when I was a wee one, and when I learned there was a place that was practically a giant sandbox of fossilized trees that looked and behaved like gemstones–I was hooked! The Petrified Forest was unlike anything I had ever seen or experienced before. The layers of sediment were visible in the rock canyons and were so vivid in color. The canyons and plateaus were vast and my mind exploded with the realization of how large the National Park was. I was not in shape enough to go for a hike, but man, I can imagine there were some amazing hikes to partake on!

The Petrified Forest was huge–so large, that suddenly I felt extremely small and my anxiety kicked into overdrive! I realized very quickly how easy it would be to get lost or stuck in a place like the Petrified Forest. All my horror movie memories came flooding in, and I made like a character in a Final Destination movie and got to my next location fast. One day I would like to visit again and see if I have the same visceral reaction–but until then, I will romanticize my memories of this visit! If you ever decide to try to make this beautiful landmark a pit stop on your travels like I did, please do some research here so you know what entrance option is best for you (I travelled on the I-40 myself but there is another entrance via HIghway 80)! Though I spooked myself, the Petrified Forest is gorgeous beyond words and I still believe you have to see it for yourself one day!