Category Archives: Petrified Forest National Park

May 26, 2021 · 7:00 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist: Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)

*The promise of a summer storm over the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)*

If you are planning a trip to Arches or Zion national parks in Utah over the Memorial Day holiday, then you’d better brace for crowds. No duh, right? However, if you are looking to spend time in a less-visited park that has some amazing scenery and geology, then why not take a look at Petrified Forest National Park, in Arizona. As a matter of fact, the National Parks published my latest Traveler Checklist today. These checklists I write are not the kind reminding you to bring along your toothpaste and not to forget the toothbrush, but rather what you might do during a visit to the park, what to watch out for, and maybe where to get a decent coffee or meal.

To read the checklist, click on the image above.

This image was captured shortly after my arrival at the Painted Desert portion of the park during my road trip move from TX to WA. It was summer, which is the monsoon season out in that part of the U.S., so storm clouds floated over the park, threatening to create a downpour. Never happened, though – may have been cloudy, but was dry as a bone over the landscape.

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Filed under Arizona, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Travel and Photography, Traveler's Checklist

Tagged as Ariona, Memorial Day, National Park, National Parks Traveler, Petrified Forest National Park, photography, travel, Traveler's Checklist, where the trails take you

May 1, 2020 · 8:51 am

It’s Fun Fact Friday 5-1-2020!

It’s Fun Fact Friday! Did you know that the petrified logs you see in Petrified Forest National Park range in age from 211 – 218 million years? And those saturated colors come from such trace minerals as hematite, pyrite, goethite, chromium, and manganese. Pretty cool, huh? And now, you know.

I wish I would have had one more day to spend in this national park located in Arizona. It was the very first national park I visited during my 3-week road trip move from Texas to central Washington. I’d never been to this park before, and as what usually happens, even if you’ve done prior research about a park, you still are a little unprepared for what you’ll see and what you’ll do. This national park is one of those less-visited gems, so it’s very easy to practice a social distancing along the trails. This particular trail is called the Crystal Forest Trail.

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Filed under Arizona, Canon, Fun Fact Friday, National Parks, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Travel

Tagged as Arizona, Canon, Crystal Forest Trail, fossil, Fun Fact Friday, geology, July, National Park, Petrified Forest, photography, summer, where the trails take you

January 31, 2020 · 6:55 am

Scale And Reference In A Photo

Most landscape photographers roll their eyes at including people or anything man-made in their images. I always try to get a few shots with people or other evidence of “civilization” in them because I believe this gives a sense of scale and reference to an image, thereby helping the viewer wrap their heads around the vastness, immensity, or smallness of a scene or feature within the landscape.

This was my daily look during my 9 days in Yellowstone National Park this past autumn: bedraggled and sweaty from lugging photo gear on all my hikes, yet happy as a clam at high water to be out there doing what I love the most.

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Filed under Arizona, Canon, National Parks, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as Canon, National Park, national parks, people, Petrified Forest, photography, reference, scale, travel, Yellowstone

November 11, 2019 · 9:35 am

In Honor Of Veterans Day: Free Entrance To National Parks

Layered and petrified, Petrified Forest National Park

The view from Lost Mine Trail, Big Bend National Park

Sunrise over the Grand Teton Mountains, Grand Teton National Park

A forest floor of ferns, Olympic National Park

Hey folks! If you happen to be near a national park, you can enter any of the 419 units in the National Park System for free today, in honor of Veterans Day.

The images above are but a few of the national park scenes you can see.

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Filed under Arizona, Big Bend, Grand Teton National Park, National Parks, Olympic National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Texas, Travel, Veteran's Day, Washington State, Wyoming

Tagged as Big Bend, Canon, Grand Teton, National Park, Olympic, Petrified Forest, photography, travel, Veteran's Day, where the trails take you

April 2, 2019 · 6:42 am

A Geologic Gem Of A Painted Park

Blue Mesa layers, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

The National Parks Traveler has published my latest “Photography in the National Parks” column. This article is all about a geologic gem of a painted park: Petrified Forest National Park

To read the article, click on the image above.

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Filed under National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Photography In The National Parks, Seasons, summer

Tagged as Arizona, Blue Mesa, Canon, geology, landscape, landscape photography, National Park, National Parks Traveler, painted desert, Petrified Forest, Photography In The National Parks, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, scenery, travel

January 22, 2019 · 2:09 pm

My 10 Fave Shots From 2018

Every January, for the past 6 years, my first photo column of the year for the National Parks Traveler has dealt with my favorite shots from the previous year. This year, I have 10 faves – one from each national park / recreation area I visited. To read the article, click on the photo above.

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Filed under Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canon, Canyonlands National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, North Rim, Petrified Forest National Park, Travel, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as 10 favorites, arches, Arizona, Bryce Canyon, Canon, Canyonlands, favorite photos, Glen Canyon, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, landscape, landscapes, Mount Rainier, national parks, National Parks Traveler, national recreation area, North Rim, Petrified Forest, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, scenery, Utah, Washington, Washington State, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Zion

November 4, 2018 · 9:49 am

Zazzle Storefront And 2019 Calendars

Yes, yes, more shameless self-promotion. I previously listed a calendar I made with Lulu.com. I also made calendars using other websites as well, for quality control and comparison. As such, I’ve decided I really, really like Zazzle’s products much better and have set up a storefront there, with calendars representing the national parks I’ve visited this year. I’ve got a couple more calendars to go, but if you are interested in taking a peek (they make great gifts), then click on any of the images to be taken to my storefront.

And, thanks!

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Filed under Arizona, Bryce Canyon National Park, Calendars, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Holidays, National Parks, North Rim, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Travel, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as Arizona, Bryce Canyon, calendar, Calendars, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, landscape, landscapes, National Park, national parks, North Rim, Petrified Forest, photography, road trip, travel, Utah, Wyoming, Yellowstone

July 22, 2018 · 7:54 am

Looking Out Over Blue Mesa Trail

Looking over Blue Mesa Trail, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

I spent the day in the park, yesterday. It was a dry heat (grin). This place is pretty amazing. Oh, there are no mountains or rivers or streams, and I saw very little wildlife (a dear, a bunny, and a raven). The the geology is really cool. I mean, think about it a moment: this place, once a swampy area with tall, thick trees and dinosaurs, is now a semi-arid (felt totally arid, to me) land with the petrified (agatized) remains of fallen trees. The conditions at the time had to be just right in order to petrify the swaths of logs you can see from your car window and from the hiking trails.

This image was captured at a view area overlooking the Blue Mesa trail and surrounding scenery. The rocks really *are* blue (and purple, mauve, beige and buff), with fallen logs, many longer than I am tall with a girth of 2-4 ft.

If you ever have the chance to visit this national park, you can see it in a day, although I always advocate maybe 1-1/2 to 2 days exploring. The first thing you should do when the park opens up at 7am is to hightail it out to the Blue Mesa Trail to hike it when it’s coolest and when the sunlight is angled just right.

Now, it’s on to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

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Filed under Arizona, Geology, National Parks, Petrified Forest National Park, Photography, Travel

Tagged as Arizona, Blue Mesa, Canon, hike, hiking, landscape, National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, scenery, trail, travel