If you’re road tripping in the Southwest, be sure to make some time for Petrified Forest National Park. This unique park offers amazing views of the Painted Desert, and you won’t believe all the petrified wood you’ll see throughout the park. This national park has two entrances. Since we’d spent the night at Tucumcari, New Mexico, the night before, we planned to begin exploring the park in the afternoon when we arrived. For this first day, we entered from the north at the Painted Desert Visitor’s Center, just off of I-40. You may be wondering, was it really hot in July at about 3:00 p.m.? Yes, yes it was. Still, it was manageable when you weren’t in the direct sun. And the wind was much stronger than I would’ve imagined, so that helped with cooling. We didn’t do any long hiking trails. We stayed close to the beaten path and…
