Pierre Padovani

On the drive from Albuquerque, NM to Flagstaff, AZ we stopped at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. The painted desert had astounding views of multi-layered and colored stone. Our kids recalled a Phineaus and Ferb Disney episode that highlighted this national park. The petrified forest was unexpected in terms of what to see. There were very few trees. And it was desolate. My wife had been there as a child and recalled seeing a lot of petrified wood lying about in plain site. We went to the gift shop and commented as such. The gift shop clerk commented that for years people have been stealing the petrified wood. Interestingly enough, the clerk added: "A lot of people mail the rocks back. There is a huge pile outside of the Ranger's station. Those people had a terrible string of bad luck after stealing the petrified rock from the national park so they returned them anonymously. The Rangers are not distributing the returned rocks because they are trying to save it for future generations to see." Karma.