the painted desert rim trail at petrified forest national park

The Painted Desert Rim Trail at Petrified Forest National Park is a one-mile round trip (1.6km) walk between Tawa Point and Painted Desert Inn.  From the rim, there are excellent views of the multi-hued Painted Desert below.

I walked a half-mile through pinyon-juniper scrubland atop volcanic rock.

The Painted Desert Inn is a trading post-turned-inn-turned-museum.  At the end of the half-mile trail, I stopped inside where a ranger told me all about the history of the place.  He pointed out the murals, the rounded corners, and the decorative ceiling.

The original building from the early 1920s was made of petrified wood. Today’s adobe facade dates to the 1930s renovation in the Pueblo Revival Style.  This National Historic Landmark is now a museum with exhibits on the park’s recent human history and architecture.

The murals at the Painted Desert Inn depict symbols, stories and ceremonies of the Hopi and their ancestral Pueblan people who lived in this region.

The Salt Lake Mural tells the story of two Hopi men on a salt gathering journey who walked a 230-mile trip from their home in the Zuni mesas and back, passing through what is now Petrified Forest National Park.  It was both a physical and coming-of-age journey.

I walked out to Kachina Point near the Inn for more views of the Painted Desert.

Then I walked back the way I came, along the Painted Desert Rim Trail, to Tawa Point.  Here, I hopped in my car and left Petrified Forest National Park by 1:15.  My next destination was the Hubbell Trading Post.

As this was my second day in the park, I got another cancellation stamp. 🙂

*Tuesday, May 15, 2018*

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On Sundays, I post about hikes or walks that I have taken in my travels; I may also post on other unrelated subjects. I will use these posts to participate in Jo’s Monday Walks or any other challenges that catch my fancy.