Petrified Forest National Park

This park is in the middle-of-nowhere Arizona, along a long stretch of Interstate 40 about halfway between Phoenix and Alberquerque. It is a strangely picturesque collection of petrified trees, expanses of desert wildflowers, ancient petroglyphs and inscriptions, and rich geological deposits and fossil beds formed during the Late Triassic period. And when the sunlight hits the landscape just right, you quickly learn the origination of the term "Painted Desert."