#PaintedDesert May 20

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May 2026 the 30-Day Coach4aday Challenge will feature travel pictures. It is a simple daily activity of posting a photo of a place that you have traveled to or a location you plan to visit. Today it is the view of the PAINTED DESERT inside Petrified Forest National Park.

This month marks the 77th consecutive month that friends Jeff Neelon and Jaclyn Donovan have taken on some sort of challenge. For May 2026 participants simply commit to taking or sharing one travel-themed photo each day for 30 days. Each photo just needs to be accompanied by a simple descriptor. Hope you decide to join the 30-Day Travel Pics Coach4aday Challenge.

Day 20-Painted Desert

Earlier this month my wife and I completed an eight-day trip to Arizona. We call these excursions “Funnymoons” where we go and explore college campuses, State Capitols, breweries, MLB stadiums, and National & State Parks. One of those parks on this trip was Petrified Forest National Park.

We spent five hours and quickly learned that it is a diverse place with one of the largest collections of petrified wood in the world. What we were not ready for was how much of the park was grass badlands and colorful mesas considered to be part of the “Painted Desert“.

Our itinerary included the following:

• Drove through the entire park (28 miles/45 km on main park road)
• Stopped at Painted Desert Inn
• Enjoyed the views and wayside exhibits at Route 66, Newspaper Rock, and Jasper Forest
• Walked the Puerco Pueblo Trail
• Walked the Giant Logs Trail (pick up a trail guide outside Rainbow Forest Museum)
• Explored Blue Mesa and walked a portion of the trail

Here are the photos that we thought captured parts of the “Painted Desert” at the northern end of the park.

Photo 1

Photo Two