Blue Mesa was our first stop at the Petrified National Forest.  It’s located in the middle of the park and had a 1 mile hiking loop.  There were a few specimens of petrified logs on the ground.  At least what was left after earlier settlers hauled out the best logs.  This area was once a subtropical area with dinosaurs and other cool things.  Once, as in about 225 million years ago.  Now it’s a bunch of hills with stripes in them and logs in them.

Petrified wood is formed when dead trees soak in mud for a really really long time.  Over time, minerals in the mud such as manganese, iron and copper replace the organic parts of the wood and turn the whole thing into stone.  The stuff is heavy.  And hard.  In fact it rates 7.8 on Moh’s scale.  That’s like well on its way to being as hard as a diamond!