Heavy Knowledge

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They tell you to learn something new every day. Today I learned that petrified wood weighs 166 pounds per cubic foot. How’s that for some heavy knowledge!! And where did I learn this, you ask? Why, at the Mississippi Petrified Forest, of course! It’s located in Flora, Mississippi, a little north of the state capital of Jackson. I love to watch those “strange things you didn’t know about (insert state here)” videos on YouTube. One I watched on Mississippi said that there’s a petrified forest in the state. Well, guess who’s on that little factoid like ugly on ape!! Needless to say, it’s nothing compared to the one you think of in Arizona when someone says “petrified forest.” That didn’t stop it from being interesting! Despite the chilly weather (it was 47F or BRRR! Celsius ) i enjoyed walking around the grounds. There’s been plenty of weather damage to trees in the region (very evident while driving on the interstate), so there were quite a few limbs lying around that weren’t stone. The ones that were, however, were amazing. In the top left is one that I saw when walking up on it (as you see in the picture) and said, “Ooh, a froggy!” That’s exactly what the trail guide said the rock formation was called: “the frog.” And, of course, that’s naturally sculpted, not some artistic rendition. All of the items along the trail are exactly where they were found when the area was surveyed for fossils (following, according to the trail guide, someone hitting a piece of petrified wood 75 feet deep while digging a well!). In addition to the gigantic fossilized wood, the trail guide said the area, given its hilly terrain, was an area where both Union and Confederate soldiers hid during the Civil War. That would stand to reason, given the proximity to Vicksburg National Battlefield (where I visited perviously and had the elation of finding that Civil War battleship display). In the museum area they had displays showing that “petrified forest” is not unique to Arizona. There were pieces of petrified wood from a number of US states (including one from Indiana, not all that far from where I live in Kentucky). They also have a cute logo of a woodpecker with a busted bill from pecking on the petrified wood (lower right). And, of course, in the lower left photo, you see the boss photobombing the first display on the trail. No, it’s not ”the” Petrified Forest, but it was still a fun and educational stop along the way! PHOTO COLLAGE: (Upper left) “The Frog,” a large petrified wood formation along the trail. (Upper right) A sample of petrified wood from Indiana. (Lower left) A cat decides it wants to have its photo taken along with one of the logs.. (Lower right) The sign with the cute broken-billed woodpecker.