PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK | Episode 1 | Giant Logs, Long Logs, Agate House, Crystal Forest

Visiting Petrified Forest National Park and wondering what there is to see and what stops are worth it? We venture from South to North and break up the overlooks and trails to help you plan your trip.
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Welcome to the first in our four-part series covering Petrified Forest National Park. In our first episode, we enter the South Entrance and check out the Visitor Center for a bit of history, tour the Giant Logs Trail where we see the mammoth Old Faithful log, cross the street to check out the Long Logs Trail and Agate House, and finally drive north to see hike the Crystal Forest Trail.
Petrified Forest National Park is located in Northeast Arizona near Interstate 40 east of the town of Holbrook. The park is filled with excellent examples of petrified wood dating back about 220 million years. The process of petrification occurred when the now extinct trees toppled over into a river and were buried under layers of silt, mud, sand, and volcanic ash. The minerals from these layers, combined with the water, saturated the trees and bonded with the wood cells eventually replacing the wood.
The Giant Logs Trail is a self-guided 0.3-mile long trail that shows off some of the most exquisite examples of petrified wood. These colorful logs display a rainbow of brilliant reds, yellows, and purples. You would almost swear they were real wood as the outside appears almost as though it was bark. On some examples, you can even count rings. The star of this trail is Old Faithful - a 35-foot long log that weighs approximately 44 tons.
Across Petrified Forest Rd is the Long Logs Trail and Agate House Trail. Combined the two trails make for a 2.6-mile hike. The Long Logs Trail measures 1.6 miles and is a loop trail showcasing the site of a log jam from the late Triassic period. Some of the logs on this trail measure as long as 180 feet! They really spark the imagination to try to visualize what this ancient forest must have looked like at one time.
The Agate House is a reconstructed pueblo built of petrified wood. Talk about your log cabin! It is believed that the pueblo was inhabited around 900 to 1200 AD. While you cannot enter the house, there is a window to peer in and imagine what life inside would have been like all those years ago.
Crystal Forest is a 0.75-mile paved loop trail that takes visitors close to more examples of petrified logs. This area combines the views of the high desert along with the landscape of badlands. Colorful striped hills emerge and there's not a bad view in sight.
Please note that when visiting Petrified Forest National Park, removal of any objects, including wood, is PROHIBITED by Federal Law. Artifacts, wood, and minerals are not to be removed. Gift shops both within the park as well as in the area have many gorgeous polished examples to purchase and take home.
VIDEO FILMED: 07/03/2020
▬▬ R E L A T E D V I D E O S ▬▬
⚪ Valley of Fire West - • 6 Things You NEED to S...
⚪ Valley of Fire East - • Are These Some of the ...
▬▬ L O C A T I O N I N F O ▬▬
⚪ Petrified Forest National Park - www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm
⚪ Directions to Petrified Forest National Park - goo.gl/maps/nYxoQPx6woz9Tn2N6
▬▬ T I M E S T A M P S ▬▬
00:00 Intro
00:18 Visitor Center
01:42 Giant Logs Trail
07:18 Long Logs/Agate House Trails
09:50 Agate House
10:50 Long Logs
13:24 Crystal Forest
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Welcome to the Cactus Atlas! We are Glenn and Amy and invite you to join us as we visit all sorts of locations across the American West. We tour both natural and man-made attractions.
Our base of operations is in the Phoenix, AZ area. We do a lot of hiking and day trips as well as campground reviews and hope that we will be a great resource if you are planning a trip to the American West. We also hope to delight you with our exciting adventures!

[@tpseeker3367]

You always seem to find the Hidden Gems Glenn. Gotta say you've done one of the best tours of the Petrified Forest I've seen so far.

[@CactusAtlas]

Thank you so much!

[@birdman5223]

Good stuff young man☺️ They’re all incredible😱

[@gerrystarchild]

Very enjoyable and fun to watch great video!

[@CactusAtlas]

Well thank you!! Very much appreciate hearing that!

[@SwiftyTravels]

Great video! You have provided so much great information here!! The petrified wood is so beautiful!!

[@CactusAtlas]

Thank you so much! And yes the wood is amazing. The colors inside can be be vivid and varied. I love it!

[@destinationdero]

This place looks so cool. Nice vlog man👍

[@CactusAtlas]

Thanks!!!

[@robinfagan9380]

Great information and awesome scenes of the park

[@CactusAtlas]

Thank you! Thank you for watching! We hope the information was helpful!

[@in_his_presence_4362]

Recently discovered your channel. Enjoying your posts. Great work ! 🌵🌤 This will be our next day trip 👍

[@CactusAtlas]

Thanks so much! It makes for a fantastic day trip! 😄

[@janelbrady5342]

That was excellent.

[@CactusAtlas]

Thank you so very much! 😊

[@candymcclure2476]

I went to this park a few years ago. My friend Barbara and I loved exploring around. Gramma Candy

[@sarahleroux7415]

vidéo très intéressante, merci pour ce partage

[@CactusAtlas]

Thanks you very much! 😊

[@christyrogers6914]

You never overdo it, I have always wanted to visit Petrified Forest NP since I read about it in the 70's as a kid in our set of Childcraft books. Well in just a few short weeks we are taking the trip of a lifetime out west and this park is on our list. how I can be so excited to see a bunch or rocky wood, i have no idea. But thanks for all your wonderful videos, i feel like you have been my personal guide to trip planning.

[@CactusAtlas]

Oh my goodness! That's so very awesome! Happy to have helped and most of all... have fun! There are so many fantastic things out here. 😊

[@christyrogers6914]

@@CactusAtlas oh we are already planning a second trip. A 15 day trip from TN couldn’t even begin to but a dent in everything we want to see.

[@ShelleeGraham]

So glad to see this vlog that focused on the Petrified Forest logs 🪵 that are now amazing mineral - crystallized rock formations. Most of us are fond of interesting rocks. (Yes, I have some unique rocks collected and paid for in our yard. Some are petrified wood - the more raw, rough look - purchased from the Holbrook & Joseph City, Arizona areas. They are wonderful souvenir pieces to have and remind us of the beauty of NE Arizona.) Thank you!

[@CactusAtlas]

Thank you! Oddly enough, even though we've visited many times, we've still never purchased any petrified wood. One day! Would love to own a piece of our own too. 😅

[@ShelleeGraham]

@@CactusAtlas YES, Glenn & Amy, I've purchased at Jim Gray's Petrified Wood at Holbrook, AZ (amazing place includes a museum, but very reasonable for the things I like) and the famous Jack Rabbit Trading Post (Joseph City, AZ) with owners Cindy & Tony Jaquez. Go get yourself a piece. It's a lovely ancient artifact.

[@jlemus1975]

Thanks for the video. I miss Arizona.

[@CactusAtlas]

Our pleasure! We had fun making it! Thanks for watching!

[@Pianolisapark315]

Like #17! Beautiful museum! Nice video! 😍😍🌹🌹 I subscribed to you and the bell on! 😍😍🌹🌹🔔🔔🌹

[@CactusAtlas]

Thanks so much for the kind words and subscribing! 😀

[@doxielover2814]

Amazing that something that old is still here. The badlands look a little like the badlands in South Dakota and they also have fossils there. This is beautiful with all the colors and texture of these logs and seems like a good place to take a family for a vacation for forever memories for the kids.

[@CactusAtlas]

Very true! However, as we've learned a lot of pieces and logs have disappeared throughout time, especially prior to the park being recognized as a national park and having protection. Would have been amazing to go back in time and see what it might have looked like a couple centuries ago or more!

[@candymcclure2476]

agate (ag-get) is a semi-precious stone. But I do enjoy your narratives. Gramma Candy

[@gstiles7]

yeah that really puts Fire logs to shame. They should think about putting up a sign that apologizes for the poor specimen and direct them the Petrified Forest National Park.

[@CactusAtlas]

I'd be curious if they were native to Valley of Fire and if so wonder if there's more buried underground. I guess it is what it is but, yeah... Petrified Forest puts those few to shame.

[@kreggossmer2029]

😎👍👍

[@candymcclure2476]

The bark and color look quite like the giant Sequoia trees in Calif. Gramma Candy

[@CactusAtlas]

Interesting observation! I know the trees that made up the forest that was once there were conifers as well. 👍

[@TheRancher03]

I past through there several times on the way to the National Parks but never stopped and should have.

[@CactusAtlas]

Hopefully the opportunity arises for you in the future. Thanks so much for watching. 😄

[@SomeplaceOrAnother]

It’s so weird how wood can turn to rock. Looks like a great place to visit. 👍

[@CactusAtlas]

Isn't it though? And from the outside it looks JUST like wood. You go in to touch it with your brain expecting to feel one thing you're familiar with and instead it feels completely different. And they're everywhere!

[@cathymaxcy3391]

Agate is pronounced aget, it is the form of rock that most of those petrified logs are made of. Agate can come in many colors and is very shiny and hard. Ancient indians made arrowheads and other tools out of agate.

[@shazart1111]

🤔 so, I have questions, and im not trying to be a pain in the perverble... Forgive me but genuinely I ask, why would there be a log jam, of harvested trees, in a river 217 million years ago?... Also the logs look as if they have been sliced with a saw🤔... And also if the surrounding area was subjected to the same circumstances, wouldn't that also be petrifed? 🧐 Dont get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed this vlog Glenn and Amy, the amazing agate is beautiful for sure, but my brain says the story they are selling just doesn't seem to compute 🤗🧠...

[@fatmanhikes]

I was there a couple months ago, did you see the aliens on newspaper rock?

[@CactusAtlas]

I unfortunately did not. In an upcoming episode, you will see my experience at Newspaper rock. I split my trip into 4 episodes and stopped at every main stop. The issue was, I was wary of using the binoculars at the overlook with all going on with the pandemic . I tried to zoom in with my camera but the lighting was not working with me. I was going to research if there is a trail or some way to get down there. Did not see a way. I know there are back country hikes you can do without a permit. Maybe there is one that takes you down there? But aliens you say? Now you got me really interested! 👽

[@fatmanhikes]

Yea man, actual pictures of aliens from 7-800 yrs ago! Probably find them online.