Yukon had his first National Park adventure this past weekend!
The two of us — with our friends Melly and Jake — spent Sunday driving over to Petrified Forest National Park so Yukon could swear in as a “Bark Ranger” and explore all the trails.
Most National Parks don’t allow dogs at all, and those that do usually only allow pups in very few designated portions of the park. However, Petrified Forest allows dogs on ALL of its trails, which is really nice!
Petrified even has a “Bark Ranger” program. I got to stop by the visitor center and an NPS employee came outside to give Yukon a card and a bag of treats after he took an oath to swear in as a “Bark Ranger.” He had to promise to stay on his leash, make his human pick up his poop, stick to the trails and respect wildlife.
Because my back is still fairly messed up from my climbing fall a few weeks ago (and also because it was in the mid-90s), we didn’t do anything too intense. We stopped at some of the scenic view points and did two quick “hikes.” The first was Blue Mesa, which was a one-mile loop through the badland hills…
…and the second was Crystal Forest, which was a three-quarter-mile loop through deposits of fossilized wood.
One of the coolest parts of this park was just how diverse the landscape was. We went through the Painted Desert badlands to empty fields full of petrified wood to rock piles covered in petroglyphs. It felt like wandering through three totally different National Parks that all happened to rest in a loop.
Anyway. This is a quick post because it was a quick trip thanks to my back and the heat, but I’m looking forward to coming back soon (this is only 90 minutes from my apartment!) and exploring more of the park once the weather cools down and my back feels a bit better.
