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These are nothing to write home about. The paint on the desert is just different mineral oxides. The petrifaction goes like this: There is a forest. Volcanoes erupt spewing ash all over the place. The ash is high in silica. It, the ash, covers the trees. Over time, ground water seeps through the ash picking up silica and depositing it where the tree was/is. Eventually you have a big crystal formation that takes the shape of the tree. The only thing of minor interest for us is the display of misfortune and guilt. There is a display case with letters from people who have stolen little bits of the forest and taken them home only to have woe visited upon them - dog gets hit by a car, wife leaves with kids, alcoholic, needs new liver… yada yada yada. Now, I am very opposed to people snatching stuff from the national parks. It's just really bad for the park and for the people who hope to see it in the future. In fact, one monument had to be closed because people stole too much of the petrified wood there. But… I'm not very much into superstition and I bet that the guy's alcoholism had more to do with his wife leaving and him losing his job. It's nice that they send the crap back though. |
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