Petrified Forest National Park Celebrates National Park Week

Date: April 18, 2009
Contact: Rita Garcia, 928-524-6228 x273
Contact: Hallie Larsen, 928-524-6228 x274

Petrified Forest, AZ― National Park Week is an annual presidentially proclaimed week for celebration and recognition of your national parks. Your national parks are living examples of the best this Nation has to offer—our magnificent natural landscapes and our varied yet interrelated heritage. As part of the celebration, join the national parks on Wednesday, April 22^nd for Earth Day.

There will be a variety of activities and events to help us appreciate our planet.  Parks can provide recreational experiences, opportunities to learn and grow, and places of quiet refuge. This year, take a moment—an hour—a day to visit the national parks near you.

To celebrate National Park Week—April 18^th through 26^th—Petrified Forest will offer special activities above the regular daily programs, including:

Try your skill on the interactive National Park quiz, Painted Desert Visitor Center

Pick up your take home National Park Treasure Hunt and Make Your Own National Park handouts (available at Painted Desert Visitor Center and Rainbow Forest Museum)

Repast with a Ranger—bring your lunch and join an informal chat with a ranger, Painted Desert Visitor Center plaza (check for availability and time)

National Park art display at Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark. Visitors can draw and/or write their national park impressions. Materials are supplied and visitors can keep their work or add it to the display.

Online National Park display at https://www.nps.gov/pefo

Behind the Scenes tours (a different one daily—check at the visitor centers for information): may include tours of the Paleontology Lab and Headquarters

Off the Beaten Path walk (a different one daily—check at the visitor centers for information): may include walks to Keystone Arch, petroglyphs, and Route 66

Wednesday, April 22^nd- Earth Day: Orienteering in the Wilderness. Meet Ranger Foz Trautner at the Painted Desert Inn at 9am. The hike will take approximately 3 hours and participants will learn way finding skills in the outdoors using a map and compass. This hike will take visitors into the northern section of wilderness.

Wednesday, April 22^nd- Earth Day: A Hike in the Grasslands. Meet Ranger Michelle Bauer at Mile Marker 24 at 2pm. This hike will take approximately 2 hours and participants will experience the southern section of the wilderness. The grasslands of Petrified Forest hold many surprises. April brings wildflower shows and if the participants are lucky they may see pronghorn, squirrels, hawks and other wildlife that inhabit the park.

Saturday, April 25^th 10 am to 4 pm: Cultural Demonstrator, Otto Lucio will share his traditional Zuni jewelry and silver-smithing skills at Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark

Stamping workshop at Painted Desert Visitor Center to make souvenir postcards

Don’t forget! Junior Ranger Day on April 25^th when kid- and family-friendly activities and walks will be offered!

Join Petrified Forest National Park in celebrating National Park Week!

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 Superintendent at e-mail us. Our website has more news and press releases: www.nps.gov/pefo/parknews/newsreleases.htm.