On Interstate 90, halfway between Seattle and Spokane, Washington, a state park sign sits beside the highway. The sign indicates that a Ginkgo Petrified Forest park is just down the road that enters in Vantage, Washington, which is in central Washington State. It has an arid climate containing mostly sagebrush and scrub cedar brush. The incongruity of the desert vs. the lush foliage of a ginkgo tree is intriguing, and makes a person want to stop and visit the park.
Finding the Petrified Forest Park:
Further along on the two-lane side road, you find a sign designating the area ahead to be the petrified forest you are searching for. A paved driveway, with a designated parking area, indicates parking spaces, and a charge. An official-looking building has a sign that you enter under the building to reach a trail. Just before you duck under the rock shed, there is another sign, not exactly done in high-tech style that says, Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park. A group of picnic tables is on the way, and you can't help note the contrast between the lush lawn and the surrounding desert. (see picture 1)
Finally, the trail:
The trail is a hiking trail. (see picture 2) The petrified wood to view is encased in concrete with a grate on top. The logs were dug out of the ground, encased in a concrete box, an topped with a grate, apparently to prevent the log from being carted off. The first box I saw wasn't even a ginkgo tree, but a walnut tree. (picture 3) Undaunted, I walked on, up a steep hill to the next box of petrified wood that wasn't a ginkgo tree, either, but it was very interesting. Still I had not seen a documented ginkgo tree.
Museum and Gem Store:
After walking as far as I wanted to walk in the hot sun, I went back to the car and drove to the museum and gem shop. Here, I hit the jackpot! First, there were some living ginkgo trees, (picture 4), and some petrified logs. (picture 5) The museum was interesting to anyone who loves ancient history and fossils. Operators of the museum have published a book called the "Ginkgo Petrified Forest".
The book explains how the trees at the state park had been petrified rapidly by lava flows 15.4 million years ago. (page 4, Orsen). The ginkgo tree became extinct in the West Coast region, so the fossil record is the only proof that they ever lived here. The ancient ginkgo tree has only one living relative, and that is the Ginkgo biloba The petrified species in the museum had been identified as the Ginkgo beckii.
Scientists believe the trees lived during the Cenozoic Era, which was 50 million years ago, according to the book. Because of the value of the ginkgo petrified wood, its discoverer felt that the entire area should be designated as a ginkgo state park, even though other woods were also petrified in that same spot. The rapid process of turning wood to stone is what makes the park unique. The process allowed scientists to identify the different kinds of trees, and that is what makes this petrified wood unique.
Value as a side trip:
Visiting the park, established in 1935, gives a traveler a nice, easy hike, and interesting browsing through the museum. You get to stretch your legs, and engage your Imagination. The museum is full of samples of local petrified wood. With a little imagination, you can picture the lush forest that once thrived in what is now only a desert. To read further on the park, go to http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=ginkgo
Sources:
Ginkgo Petrified Forest,Mark Orsen, Ginkgo Gem Shop, Vantage, Washington, 1998.
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