Mariposa Lilies, one of the beautiful wildflowers that bloom during May, in the Forest. Photo by Josef Muench.
AGATIZED RAINBOWS
.... A Story of the Petrified Forest
POPULAR SERIES No. 3—1951
PRESENTED BY PETRIFIED FOREST MUSEUM ASSOCIATION, HOLBROOK, ARIZONA
AND THE ARIZONA STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
TEXT BY HAROLD J. BRODRICK, PARK NATURALIST
“Oh ranger, please! Just one itzy bitzy piece of petrified wood to take home to show my boy friend. You won’t miss just one teeny weeny piece.”
Holding in his hand an assortment of specimens of petrified wood which he had just retrieved from the young lady driving the flashy convertible, the Highway 260 checking station ranger at Petrified Forest National Monument shook his head with a wry smile. “Sorry, lady, but the rules say ‘It is unlawful to injure, destroy, or remove specimens of petrified wood of any size whatsoever found within the monument boundary * * *,’ and my job is to see that this and other regulations are obeyed. You’re right, we would never miss these few pieces if you took them home with you, but they belong to the people of the United States, and if everyone of the 350,000 visitors who come here each year took away only a few specimens, as you wish to do, in a very few years there wouldn’t be any left. It’s my job, as representative of the people of this country, to see that there will always be this great natural display of petrified wood here where it was formed.”
As the young lady drove off with a gay wave of her hand and “I think you’re mean” tossed over her shoulder, the ranger turned to us with a rueful smile. “Happens every day,” he said. “You can’t blame people for wanting to take home a souvenir of the Petrified Forest, and the stuff is so pretty that kids, especially, just can’t help but want to pack it off. And, with so much of it here, it’s hard for them to understand that it would soon be gone, particularly along the roads and trails, if everyone carried off a handful or two.”