Increase in Visitation for September 2006

Date: October 21, 2006
Contact: Janet Fernandes, [phone] ext.238

Increase in Visitation at Petrified Forest National Park for September 2006

Petrified Forest, AZ – Park Superintendent Lee Baiza announced that visitation increased by 7% this September from last year with 47,378 visits compared to last year’s 44,347. The year-to-date total is 484,628 which is down by 2.5% from last year. Since gas prices were significantly lower for September 2006 than for the previous year more visitors may have been traveling.

The Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark at Kachina Point is a wonderful example of the Pueblo Revival style which was done in the 1930s. Visitors today can also see the renovations of Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, architect and interior designer for the Fred Harvey Company in the late 1940s. Her color schemes have been restored giving the dinning and lunch rooms their warm, rich orange and cream hues. The wood work stands out in both soft and bold blues.

For more information call [phone] weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time; or write to the Superintendent, Petrified Forest National Park, P.O. Box 2217, Petrified Forest, AZ 86028; or e-mail the park.