I've told you about private development and Valley Forge National Historical Park, and about private development and Acadia National Park, and about the National Park Service being so poor it has to turn to commercial interests to preserve history. So does it come as any surprise that Congress approved, but failed to fund, expansion of Petrified Forest National Park?

Stumps of stone. Rock palettes that tell stories. Prehistory frozen in place for hundreds of millions of years. Colorful badlands. That's a pretty good way to sum up what you'll find at Petrified Forest National Park.