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Hello and welcome to the Petrified Forest, and to the Painted
Desert.
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Our friends, and somewhat constant companions, the Austrian
motorcyclist, arrive in the park.
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Park headquarters, which included the obligatory gift shop.
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A look across the Painted desert, from one of the many vantage
points within the park. It's plain to see how the Painted Desert got it's
name.
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A view out across the painted Desert landscape, from the terrace
of the Petrified Forest park HQ. Normally, you can see for miles, with
no apparent haze, as this is some of the purest air in the country. Unfortunately,
during our visit, the tinderbox, which the silly clinton conservation policies
made of the west, caught fire, and there were wild fires raging across
the southwest.
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A rustic rail skirts the edge of the high ground, adjacent
to park headquarters. There are a number of scenic lookouts, and a variety
of interpretive displays in the immediate area.
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The iron oxide colored mounds of the Painted Desert.
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A view past the folds of the painted Desert to a line of cliffs
beyond.
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A couple of views from the main viewing platform connected
to park headquarters.
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This view, from the ground in front of my feet, off into the
distance, shows the haze which covered the whole area during our visit.
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Wild sage grows in abundance, right up to the line of the walkways
and parking lots.
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The banded hills of the painted Desert, stratified remnants
of a time when this was the bottom of an ancient sea.
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Though we will pass through many dry areas on our travels,
we will not be in true desert again, nor will we see this type of painted
landscape, until we are well into Utah.
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A look down the hill, and off into the distance, as the painted
formations fade into the haze.
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The boundary between the dry grassland, and the lower plains
which have turned to desert, is pretty clear.
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A lonely little tree has survived to stand watch over
the collection of shrubs and grasses that rim the drier lands below.
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Tourist go right up to the edge of the highlands, which bound
the park. A short walk yields a breathtaking view.
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