Petrified Forest National Park Pt 3 - Arizona 2022/05/17

 Let's wrap up our time here at the Petrified Forest National Park!

After getting out of the park at 6pm, we were happy to see that the Petrified Forest Gift Shop we're staying at overnight is still open. Let's go inside and check it out!

I don't think we're going to be bringing a piece this big in the RV with us. These people might want to reconsider their purchase. 

Inside there's a whole bunch of pieces of petrified wood that has been collected outside the park. Either locally or overseas. There's also a bunch of fossils available for purchase, but they're in a portion of the store that doesn't allow photographs. 

They have giant pieces that weight hundreds of pounds. These giant pieces are thousands of dollars, with some of them even reaching the fifteen thousand dollar mark. Imagine not just buying that, but also trying to figure out how to get it home! 

The kids really wanted to get a piece of petrified wood, and I'm all for that. I would want a piece to remember our time here too! A couple of the stores here advertise free petrified wood. We inquired and they said it's usually just one per family, but the kids were polite, so they gave us two. They're those little chips of stone you see affixed to those cards. 

Ian found what we called the "steal of the store". Many pieces that looks similar to this were priced at $40+. This piece, which looks like it has some bark and inner rings, was only $20! 

Alli dug around in the loose petrified wood bin and found this especially pink rock. That's our girl. It was $12. 

After dinner, I went outside and the weather was still very pleasant. Looking up, I could see lots of stars. Let's all head outside!

I lowered the tailgate, rolled back the cover, and tossed a few mats in the back. 

It's relaxing just looking up at the sky, away from the city lights. There's a bit of a moon over on the horizon, so it's not completely dark, but it's still pleasant. 

The four of us cuddled up in the back, watching for shooting stars. It was a good way to spend the evening. 

Luckily we're not parked too far away from the visitor's center. The next morning we hopped in the car to go collect our Junior Ranger badges. The kids have started to fill these vests out pretty well. 

After the Ranger checked their book, it was time to get their badges and be sworn in. 

Congratulations to the newest Junior Rangers!

The badge for Petrified Forest National Park shows the mesa in the background, and a petrified log that has cracked in the foreground. 

Ooh, they can earn a Paleontologist badge too? We'll have to look into that another time. 

Great work kids! 

Time to get back to the RV! We've got places to be and it's time to move! And who knew we were surrounded by ten thousand dollar tree stumps! Let's hit the road!