A remote wonderland of geology, the Bisti De-Na-Zin Wilderness is one of our favorite places in the world. With vast collections of hoodoos and amazing rocks and fossils, there are endless opportunities for the imagination. The weathering of the interbedded slate, sandstone, mudstone, and soils has resulted in a fantasy land of scenery.
Kelly’s thoughts…
The geology of the region is fantastic. The layers were laid down in part by large rivers entering the Cretaceous Interior Seaway from the mountains to the west. The extent of the Seaway changed such that the region was sometimes underwater, sometimes covered by swamp or forest, and sometimes a coastal plain. Dinosaurs roamed through the region and crocodiles, turtles and other vertebrates lived there.
After the sediment was placed down, after the Cretaceous, the land rose and dried out and was eroded by water and wind into the amazing landforms there now. Trees and giant vertebrates that were fossilized were exposed including the “Bisti Beast,” (Bistahieversor sealeyi Carr and Williamson) a tyrannosaur. Petrified wood is everywhere including giant, intact logs.
Our group this time included me and Riki, my daughter Annie and her boyfriend, Jared, and my son Josiah and his girlfriend, Dalyn. Elfie and Rango came along, too. My kids and I have explored a lot of the Bisti for many years, it is one of our favorite places to adventure. There are many unique areas in this vast region, and we explored a corner that only I had been in before.
Our route took us past many hoodoos and balanced rocks, including a number of “wings,” a type of hoodoo with a flat caprock that extends out from the pedestal into a winglike projection. We saw the Three Wings and The Jetsons, a pair of extremely tall hoodoos. White sediment contrasts with black and red and other colors throughout the area.
In addition to enormous amounts of petrified wood, we were luck to find a few fossilized bones. Near the bones were fossilized crocodile scutes and pieces of turtle shell, as well. Everywhere were beautiful stones of all colors.
I am concerned about increasing numbers of visitors to the Bisti. Right now, it is a BLM wilderness area and quite primitive. People are allowed to wander everywhere. We are really lucky to be able to see it while it is still poorly known.
Riki’s thoughts…
This was my fourth visit to the Bisti, but it was a new area of this huge desert wonderland. Kelly managed to find an area that the bulk of the visitors to the park do not explore. We were greeted by a huge, shaggy dog, likely a mix of guard dog and herding dog. He made Elfie look small and sparsely-coated. He was most likely taking a wide patrol around a herd of sheep that we never saw. Aside from him and two other groups of explorers we saw from a distance, we saw no one else during our outing. After Kelly’s hectic weeks on campus, and my entry into the world of substitute teaching, having the desert to ourselves was just what our souls needed.
Watching our two groups of couples, laughing, teasing, flirting, and adventuring together reminded me of a time in the long past. Thirty four years ago, it was Kelly and I who were laughing, talking, teasing, flirting, dreaming and exploring the western slope of Colorado together. The scenery is much different, of course. The desert is harsh, but it is the cruelty of the land that has sculpted the beauty we saw all around us, a beauty that gentleness could have never created. May that be said of the souls of all who have suffered pain and loss.
The newest member of our adventuring party took a tumble yesterday, and had a close call that could have easily required a helicopter ride to the nearest hospital. I am beyond grateful that she came away with a great story and a few scratches. It reminded me that a life well-lived is sometimes a life of risk. It was very good that we left the desert with all of the souls that entered the desert a few hours earlier.
We were greeted in the parking area as we were loading up by a local whose hogan overlooks the Bisti. He was comfortably astride a tall sorrel, and was accompanied by a German shepherd, a cattle dog, and a pit bull that he called a puppy, despite his huge size. He was quite friendly and mostly sober. He called his horse his designated driver, and was happy to show us his liquid trail rations. Happy trails, partner, and thanks for the warm howdy.
From start to finish, this was the strangest trip so far to a place that is growing in familiarity, one I will not soon forget, and will always appreciate. We will be back! There are more wonders to discover before others discover this special place.
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