Painted Desert

On the way to the Painted Desert, we detoured over to the Meteor Crater National Monument.  The boys were thrilled at the thought of a giant rock crashing into Earth.

Then we arrived to the Painted Desert...

 

...and drove through the Petrified Forest.  We were bewildered at how wood can possibly turn to stone.  They earned their second National Park badges and bought themselves their own petrified wood to take home.