Politics, Photographs, and Stories from the Road --
Illustrated Commentary on Politics, Broadly Construed
-- Featuring, But Not Limited to -- American, Chinese, & Russian People & Places of Interest
"YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS ARE AS DAZZLING AS YOUR SUBJECTS"
Sunday, May 17, 2009
THE PETRIFIED FOREST, ARIZONA, USA
THE PETRIFIED FOREST
The Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, including its Blue Mesa trail, will benefit from some ($441,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it is reported).
You would think that being right next to I-40 with easy access to the park, more travellers would stop, if not to smell the roses, at least admire one of Nature's true wonders. We've all seen paper weights and book ends made of chunks of petrified wood, but how many have seen a 60 foot tree trunk half-buried in the dirt glowing with multi-colored translucence? Recovery money will help preserve and protect this treasure, but few know that much of the petrified wood, some easily visible from the Interstate, is on private land. Fortunately, the ranch owner is as dedicated to preserving his treasure as we are of the park's.
You would think that being right next to I-40 with easy access to the park, more travellers would stop, if not to smell the roses, at least admire one of Nature's true wonders. We've all seen paper weights and book ends made of chunks of petrified wood, but how many have seen a 60 foot tree trunk half-buried in the dirt glowing with multi-colored translucence? Recovery money will help preserve and protect this treasure, but few know that much of the petrified wood, some easily visible from the Interstate, is on private land. Fortunately, the ranch owner is as dedicated to preserving his treasure as we are of the park's.
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