Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, July 2021, Part 2

I continued my whirlwind tour of the Petrified Forest National Park, driving the park road and stoping at a number of pull outs, trail areas and overlooks.

Mineralized
Colorful Sediment

It was monsoon season in this part of the country.  There was evidence of recent rains, heavy water runoff, cloudy sky was common.  Distant rainfall is seen in the photo above.

Flowering Desert
Long Petrified Log
Wildflowers and Petrified Log Sections
Mineralized

Mineral crystals replaced the original tree fabric, often preserving the detail of the original tree.

Cross Section
Petrified Forest National Park Panorama

This is a vast park with wide open desert vistas and colorful geological features.

Petrified Forest National Forest
Colorful Sediment

The view from this pull out might be the most beautiful within this park.

Painted Desert
Teepees
Eroding

It was getting late in the day and I had seen numerous signs in the park reminding visitors of the closing time.  It was already past the time suggested for visitors to head for the exits.

As I approached the south exit, I saw that the gate was already closed and for a moment I was concerned that I was going to be stuck in the park.  However, the gate would open for those approaching from within the park, so I could get out after hours, but not get back into the park, outside of the open hours.  I had wondered about the possibility of remaining within the park for sunset or night photography, but apparently the rangers make a sweep through the park to be sure no one remains for long after the closing time.

I arrived at my RV site and found that no one else was there and it was past the gift shop closing time, so I assumed I would be alone here tonight.  Although it was not excessively hot, the sun was still high above the western horizon and it was apparent that my vehicle would heat up quickly with no shade and would require some time to cool to a comfortable temperature for sleeping.  So I decided to drive the twenty plus miles into Holbrook, find a place for dinner and maybe a beer.

I had noted a restaurant called the Butterfield Stage Co Steak House as I was passing through on my way to the park.  So I decided to check it out.

It was warm in the restaurant, so apparently they either did not have A/C or it was not working well or to save on electricity it was set to a rather warm temperature.

The staff (only seemed to be two) were friendly and courteous.  I had my mind set on a steak, but when I looked over the menu, the steaks were all much larger than I could possible consume, so I decided upon Shrimp Scampi, house salad and bottled beer.  I had hoped to find a local brew on draft, but only common bottled beers were available.  The beer was good, but not as cold as I liked.  The food was good and more expensive than I expected.  The online reviews were mixed, some raved about this place other condemned it.  I liked the western decor, folksy feeling, friendly low key staff and the food.  I would give it a high rating, except for the prices, uncomfortably warm temperature and cool beer.

After dinner, I topped off my fuel tank before heading back to my RV site.  When I arrived at my site, the sun had just set with a good sunset view from the parking lot.  At first, I thought I had pulled into the wrong site, since there was a young female having lunch at the picnic table at my site.  I double checked the site number to be sure I was at the right place then got out and greeted the picnicker. She asked if I had this site reserved. When I affirmed that I did she apologized, saying she just wanted to watch the sunset, while having her dinner.  I assured her that I was not bothered by her having her meal there.  As she gathered her food, I suggested she might as well use one of the other available picnic tables, since no other RVs were there, but she moved back to her vehicle.  Maybe I looked like a really scary person, but I think she was just being careful, as one traveling alone should be.  She was apparently car camping and her vehicle was still there in the early morning, as I headed out on the last leg of my journey to the Grand Canyon North Rim.

Next up:  Grand Canyon North Rim.

Until then,

Ken

Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, July 2021, Part 1

The last stop on my route to the Grand Canyon North Rim in July 2021 was the Petrified Forest National Park.  There is an exit to this national park from I40, but I elected to go into Holbrook, Arizona and go to the south entrance, since there is an RV site just outside the park entrance there.  That RV site does not take reservations, so I wanted to be sure to get there early to increase my chance of getting a site.  There are actually two places across the road from each other here, where RV’s can park.  One site is free, first come, first serve, but has no hookups.  The other has electric hook up, but no water.  I did not need a water hookup, but I wanted electric, since I expected it to be hot and I wanted to be able to use my A/C or, or at least a fan.

I pulled into the Petrified Forest Gift Shop and RV Park and went into the gift shop to secure a site.  Some of the reviews that I had read about this site said the staff were unfriendly, but I did not find that to be the case.  Instead, I would characterize the two staff/owners as matter of fact and business like.  They were not the bubbly personality types we’ve all come to expect at tourist lodgings, motels and hotels, but they were not unfriendly.

I jokingly requested a site with shade and was matter of factly told that there was no shade.  I had noted that fact already.  There are scattered trees around the edge of the RV parking area, but the vegetation on the trees is insufficient to provide any significant shade at any time of the day.

After getting my assigned site, I drove into the park for a quick tour.  This park has gates at the entrances that open at 8AM and close at 5PM, so there is no way in the summer to be anywhere in this park for sunset or sunrise photography.

The visitor center is not far from the entrance and I stopped here, but I did not go in, since I was practicing “social distancing” during the COVID-19 pandemic.  I picked up a guide brochure from an outside location behind the visitor center and proceeded to walk the paths.  There were a substantial number of visitors, but not so many that one could not maintain a suitable distance from others.

Since it was mid-day with harsh overhead light, I elected not to carry around my heavy DSLR and to shoot with my iPhone camera.  I do not even pretend to have great photos from this park.

Summer Learning

There appear to be educational opportunities here and this seems to be a good place for lessons in the geological history of this area.

Big Petrified Tree

The base of the petrified tree in the photo above is about 10 feet in diameter.  This is a clear indication of the size of the trees in the prehistoric forest that was once here.

Petrified Log Sections

Indeed, the size of the petrified logs here is impressive.

Petrified Log Sections
Petrified Log Sections

What a magnificent forest this must have been!

Observers

I noted a little girl and her dog watching me, so I had to include them in a photo.

Cactus and Petrified Log Sections
Petrified Tree

Satisfied that I had seen everything behind the visitor center, I decided to hike to the “Agate House”, which was mentioned in the brochure.  The Agate House is little over a mile from the visitor center.  It was hot, but, with the temperature in the low 90s, not nearly as hot as I had expected for this time of the year.  I took a bottle of cold water with me to be sure I did not get dehydrated.  The hike is an easy one and is on a paved trail.  The first portion of the hike is on the remnant of an asphalt road, which ends at what used to be a parking area, then the trail continues on a narrower path to the house.

Along the route, I caught a glimpse of a colorful desert creature moving amid the rocks beside the trail.

Collared Lizard

Fortunately, this colorful lizard remained perched on a rock just long enough for me to get a good photo before it disappeared into the jumble of broken petrified tree pieces.

Petrified Jumble
Agate House

The Agate House is actually a partially restored Native American dwelling.  The restoration was done via a works program during the Great Depression.  Current practice is to leave ruins as they are found, rather than to attempt reconstruction.

Agate House

I returned to my vehicle at the visitor center parking lot and continued my quick tour of this park.

More later,

Ken

Bisti Wilderness, June 2021, Part 3

Bridge Hoodoo, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

I’ve hiked past this small bridge hoodoo in Bisti,  usually when photographic conditions were less than optimal, many times on my way to a predetermined destination.  This feature is not easily photographed in an interesting  composition that clearly shows that it is a bridge, not just a chunk of rock in a jumble of other rocks. So even when I’ve stopped by, I’ve decided not to shoot it or did not get anything worth sharing.  Still it is an interesting little bridge, so today I decided to make an attempt to get a decent photo.  I wanted to clearly indicate the opening in the bridge with some object behind it.  I could not get the sky through the bridge opening, so I needed some distinct object to show through the opening and not fill the entire opening.   Moving around to vary what was visible through the bridge, I decided that the small rock that is visible behind the bridge, would work to give some depth in an image.  To get this image, I made multiple exposure with different focal points, then stacked them using Helicon software to get the best overall sharpness.

Moving on, we found numerous portions of petrified logs and then in an area that neither my son nor I had previously explored, we found a long petrified tree specimen.  It was so long that it was difficult to photograph its entirety and still get it into a good composition.

Long Petrified Log, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

I worked around this long petrified log, trying to get shots that showed how impressive this petrified log is.

Long Petrified Log, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

A shot from the base of the log shows the base well, but this point of view does not indicate the significant length of the log.

Petrified Tree, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

I did not get any shots of this long petrified log that shows how impressive it is to see in person, but I think the shot above with the adjacent hoodoos and cloudy sky is the best image I got here.

Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

In the same general area of the long petrified tree are several other petrified logs that are partially exposed from the encasing sediment.

Near Sunset, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

Even though it was heavily overcast on this hike into the Bisti Wilderness, there was a little break through of sunlight, but no golden hour light.

Near Sunset, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM
Long Shadows, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

The tall hoodoo in the image above seems to be tilting its head towards the sun to catch the late day rays.

More Bisti later,

Ken

Bisti Wilderness, June 2021, Part 2

Rock Form, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

It was frequently cloudy during the days spent at Bisti in early June of 2021, which is good for dramatic sky backgrounds, but it can be bad for golden hour photography.

I thought the rock (photo above) with the pointy feature looked like some sort of weird creature guarding an egg, others have suggested it looks like a baby elephant.  I can see that, too.

Petrified log sections, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

There are many pieces of petrified wood, logs and trees scattered around in this area.  The mineralization of these objects is not as colorful as that in the Petrified Forest National Park, but it is amazing how much of the original tree detail is retained in these rocks.  Most of the petrified log sections are horizontal, but occasionally there are vertical ones, which I suppose tumbled into this position somewhere in the distant past.

Petrified Log Sections and Hoodoos, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM
Sky watcher. Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

The cap on the hoodoo in the photo above, looked like a turtle soaking up some sun, but there was no sun.

Ancient Sediments Exposed, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

I made some photos just to capture geological features, even if the photos are not highly interesting in an artistic manner.  Having worked with many geologists and as a petrophysicist, might make me more prone to see and marvel at the layering in rocks.

Hoodoos, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM
Hoodoo, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

Weathering and erosion continue to create and modify the features found here.  Some features might linger for many years and some might be changed quickly by a heavy rainfall.

Hoodoos, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM
Petrified Log, Bisti, June 3, 2021, PM

The petrified log in the photo above, may be the longest exposed one that I’ve seen here.  It was difficult to capture in a single photograph, so I shot it from multiple view points and on multiple occasions under different light conditions.

More later,

Ken

Bisti May 2019 – Day 1 Scouting – Part 3

I continued exploring a canyon near the Conversing Hoodoos in search of suitable places to photograph either at sunrise or sunset.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
A wing like hoodoo with a hole.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Why there are such nearly perfectly round holes in so many of the flatter rock features, I do not know; but I’m sure there is a scientific explanation.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
A stern bird faced hoodoo.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I could not help but note how much like an angry bird this particular hoodoo looked like.  I made numerous images from various points of view.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
A stern bird faced hoodoo.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
A stern bird faced hoodoo.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Continuing into the canyon past the angry bird face, I came upon this batch of hoodoos, one of which has a very elegant, graceful lady like look.  The angry bird hoodoo is visible in the background.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Graceful Hoodoo.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

This next photo illustrates how the hoodoos are formed as the canyon walls erode.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Emerging Hoodoos.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Many of rocks are eroded into modern art like objects.  My first impression of this one was that it could be seen as a chair, but then it seemed to morph into more of a nude torso in my imagination.  Maybe some primordial force shapes my imagination!

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Female Nude Torso Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

The nude torso is accompanied by another strangely shaped modern art form.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Modern Art Hoodoos.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I wandered on down this canyon until I came to the end or, maybe more appropriately, its origin.  This is but one branch off of a major wash through this area.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
A view down a Bisti canyon.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

My first thought here was to turn back, ending my scouting for the day, since there only appeared to be steep, crumbly, clay soil badlands at the end of this canyon – a dead end; but then I realized that I could carefully climb out of the canyon and I wanted to see what was up above and what kind of views I could get from a higher elevation.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
End/origin of the canyon.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Climbing the hill at the end of the canyon, I got this wider view of the area.  The area in the lower right is the end of the canyon, while another canyon is visible in the center of the image, which somewhat parallels the branch that I explored.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Canyon Views from above.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Looking back over the canyon, that I came up, one can see where it branches off of a main wash in the upper right center and, shortly into the canyon, another branch going towards upper left of the photo.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
A long petrified log with broken sections.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Continuing up the hillside, I discovered a rather long petrified log and sections that had broken from that log.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Petrified log and broken pieces.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Above the petrified log, I could see a large toadstool like rock with hints of others on the other side of the hill.

 

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Toadstool Rocks and hints of others.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Toadstool hoodoos behind the hill above the petrified log,  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Red cap hoodoo and others.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Behind that hill above the petrified log, I found many toadstool like hoodoos emerging from the hillsides.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Red cap hoodoos and emerging ones. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

Continuing to work my way around the hillside, I got a good view of the petrified log from above and I could see a way to safely get down near the log.

Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
Petrified Log viewed from above . iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
Bisti_May25_2019_ScoutingPhoto
A close up of a petrified log section.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
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An end view of the long petrified log section.  iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Color Efex Pro 4.

I ended my scouting for today at this location, deciding to come back to this location early one morning for a real photo shoot.

Until next time,

Ken