It's a two-for-one National Park deal! One entry fee got me into both the Painted Desert National Park and the Petrified Forest National Park. After paying my admission, the ranger asked me if I had any petrified wood in my car. I said yes, that I had bought some at the Rainbow Rock Shop in Holbrook. She asked if I had a receipt and yes, I did. I noticed a sign later when I left the park that vehicles can be subject to search, as they don’t want anyone poaching petrified wood from the forest.

Past the ranger booth, the road travels about ten miles though the badlands, with numerous turnouts to stop and take in vistas of the Painted Desert. I stopped at most of them, enjoying the hills and buttes in colors of every hue – lavenders, reds, pinks, oranges and grays. Rumor, our good friend and road companion, has it that the Painted Desert received its name from a Spanish explorer. While standing on the edge of a vast badlands, he observed the hills and quietly said "El Desierto Pintado," because they looked like they were painted with the colors of the sunset.