Utah's Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is a beautiful place to visit, but leave the petrified rock there. Otherwise, you might fall victim to a horrible curse.
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is absolutely gorgeous.
The park features the beautiful Wide Hollow Reservoir, a camp ground, boat ramp, restrooms with showers and two hiking trails that take you past some jaw-dropping petrified rock. It's located off State Route 12, just north of Escalante.
Outside the Visitor Center, you'll find a 50-foot-long petrified tree.
Check out this tree from roots to tip!
Take the one mile-long Petrified Forest Trail, and consider adding on the .75 Trail of Sleeping Rainbows spur.
The Petrified Forest Trail is considered moderately strenuous and climbs about 250 feet to a plateau. The Trail of Sleeping Rainbows is more strenuous and steep, but offers some larger chunks of petrified wood.
The petrified wood here is pretty stunning.
Petrified wood is millions of years old, and fascinating to view. In many specimens, the rings of the trees are visible.
The presence of different minerals such as iron, manganese and copper gives petrified wood some deep, rich colors.
Most of the petrified trees sit right where they fell.
This stuff is absolutely gorgeous, and you might be tempted to take just a tiny piece home with you as a souvenir.
Don't do it!
First and foremost: it's illegal.
If you're caught removing anything from a state park, you'll face fines and potentially greater punishment. But it's not just law enforcement that you need to worry about...it can get much worse.
A local legend says that taking petrified rock from this beautiful place might put a curse on you.
Every year, the park receives several pieces of petrified rocks in the mail, along with letters written by people who took home petrified rock souvenirs. The people are convinced that the legendary curse has affected them and their families. People tell stories about horrible traffic accidents, house fires, lost jobs, serious illnesses and even deaths.
It is a curse, or just very bad luck?
The people who send back their petrified wood seem to think it's definitely a curse. Imagine losing everything you have in a raging house fire, or losing the ones you love in a horrific car accident. Do you want to tempt fate? Leave the petrified wood where it lies so that others who visit can enjoy it, too.
What do you think? Is this curse real? Please don't try to find out for yourself...leave this place just as you find it so that others may enjoy it, too.
Here's another magnificent Utah treasure: take this hike to see House On Fire, an ancient Anasazi site.
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