The Painted Desert – Not Quite What You Expected?

Painted Desert in Petrified Forest National Park

Painted Desert in Petrified Forest National Park ©2008 Bo Mackison

No saguaro or organ pipe cacti or other familiar succulents in this desert. The Painted Desert in northeastern Arizona really isn’t a desert at all – you need to go further west and south for real desert – but is located near short grass plains or desert grasslands. The Painted Desert is barren red Chinle mudstone. Various combinations of minerals provide the different coloration – red is iron oxide and the white is gypsum.

These formations were formed 220 to 225 millions of years ago, and though the rocks are not high, they are approximately 800 feet thick. No drilling for water through this stuff.

Badlands in Painted Desert

Badlands in Painted Desert ©2008 Bo Mackison

Unfortunately, we were traveling through the area in early afternoon. I would have liked to have captured the colors nearer sunset when the reds would reflect deeper colors. It is still an amazing drive, though, through an ancient world that is well preserved. An incredible number of fossils and archeological ruins are found throughout the park.

Not Just Ordinary Rocks

Red Rock at Sunrise

Balanced Rock in Arches National Park ©2008 Bo Mackison

While Arches National Park in northeastern Utah is best known for its hundreds of red rock arches, many rock formations are almost equally as famous. Balanced Rock is one of the more well known, as it is easily seen from the main road in the park.

The uppermost part of Balanced Rock, a strong type of rock called Slick Rock sandstone, rests on a less stable rock known as Dewey Bridge mudstone. Since the mudstone erodes faster than the Slick Rock, top-heavy formations occur with some frequency. Eventually the weaker pedestals will wear away and Balanced Rock will collapse.

At dusk, the red hues of the rock are intensified, and it is quite impossible to drive past the rocks and not stop for a photograph. I would imagine anyone who has ever visited Arches has a photograph similar to this one.

“Good Morning” in the Blue Dawn

Mule Deer at Great Sand Dunes National Park

Mule Deer on the High Plains ©2008 Bo Mackison

Crisp, chilly. I would have been cold if I hadn’t prepared for wintry mornings on the high desert. Everything was frosty, shimmery. Pinks and blues, too – a pastel sort of early morning.

Gardens in the Desert

Phoenix Arboretum Entrance

Phoenix Botanical Garden Entrance Way

The Desert Botanical Gardens located between Phoenix and Scottsdale are the perfect primer to desert plant life for someone like me whose mouth drops open and gets wide-eyed at the sight of a mountain with saguaros dotting the terrain. By the looks of the crowd last weekend, it must be as popular with the local crowd.

Papago Mountains

Papago Mountains

This was the view as we sat eating our lunch at the Botanical Gardens cafe. I’m certain that I enjoyed the food, but I can’t quite remember what it was I ate. The scenery was absolutely too distracting.

Jumping Cholla

Jumping Cholla

This cactus has an great story. Seems if you brush too near the plant, a bit will break off and “jump” onto you. It seems a clever means of dispersing the plant to other areas.

Hanging Pails All in a Row

Metal Pails

Metal Pails © 2008 Bo Mackison

Don’t throw out the old bucket until you know the new one holds water. ~~ Swedish proverb.

These buckets are hanging in the Old General Store at Old World Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Historical Society’s re-creation of Midwestern living in the mid- to late-1800s. An interesting place to visit, but I don’t think I want to live there.