Yesterday afternoon Bud and I decided to hike the trail in the park that takes you to see the petrified wood for which the park is named. It starts up the side of the cove near the entrance.
It leads past this balanced rock.
It was a nice day for a hike, it was in the upper 70’s, but with enough puffy clouds so we were shielded from the intense desert sun most of the time.
The beginning of the hike is a fairly steep uphill climb.
We were hiking up under a rock formation at the top of the ridge.
Our climb was rewarded with some nice views. This is the little town of Escalante from the far side of the ridge.
We were on a flat ridge top with more rocky ridges in the distance.
Prickly pears are still in bloom here, we are farther north and higher up than where we saw them blooming earlier in our travels.
And as promised, there is petrified wood here.
This looked like most of a tree, still embedded in the dirt.
Further on there is more.
This section of the trail has the highest density of the petrified wood. I love the colors in the mineral deposits that have created these rocks.
This is the last specimen on the trail. It is about two feet in diameter and if you look closely you can see the growth rings preserved as rock.
From the side this rock also has mineralized bark.
From up here we had a nice view of the reservoir.
On the way back we got a good view of the whole campground. Our trailer is just about in the center of this picture.
When we got back to the trailer poor Matey was still asleep where we left him, curled up behind my chair. I don’t think he will live much longer, which makes exploring more difficult now.
On the Roam Again 
It amazes me to see those long-distance views you get during some of your hikes! They are beautiful. Oren and I got to Petrified Nat. Park (or whatever it was called). I have some really pretty specimens of petrified wood. I wonder what conditions cause some wood to petrify and other wood to decompose? I’m guessing the moisture in the area is part of it. How old is Matey now? You’ve certainly done a lot to give him a long life!
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From reading their signs I know the wood has to be buried quickly to keep oxygen and rot away. Then I think it has to be exposed to mineral rich seeping water.
Matey is sixteen. The vet found a bad heart murmur in August of 2022, so we are lucky to still have him. By the way, he was much better today, but we know that won’t last.
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16 is a pretty ‘ripe old age’ for a dog so he – and you – have done well !
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