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Sun Valley, Arizona: International Petrified Forest And Painted Desert (Gone)

RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report

Directions:
Was at I-40 exit 292, south side. DON'T CONFUSE THIS ATTRACTION WITH Petrified Forest National Park -- which is still open.
Hours:
July 2007 - Closed, property sold.
Status:
Gone

International Petrified Forest And Painted Desert.

International Petrified Forest And Painted Desert

A scattering of dinosaurs, carefully arranged petrified logs, and a bad map made this a disappointing drive-thru tour. Some dinos have been sold and deployed to other attractions.

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Visitor Tips and News About International Petrified Forest And Painted Desert

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Dinosaur Park

There are dinosaurs just about everywhere in Holbrook. Lots of local businesses have either a dinosaur, a teepee, or both (and usually there's petrified wood involved as well.) The number of dinosaurs in the area seems to have led to some confusion, so let me try to straighten things out.

The dinosaur statue reported by a previous tipster as part of a Driveable Dino Tour is at the entrance to the International Petrified Forest-Dinosaur Park-Museum of the Americas, a three-attractions-in-one kinda place that opened outside of Holbrook in 1999. The Petrified Forest-Dinosaur Park part of the attraction offers about six miles of roads that weave through lots of petrified wood and about a dozen realistic dinosaur statues. There are also six installations of dinos right beside the highway on either side of I-40 (and each is accompanied by a highway sign that says "Emergency Parking Only"). If you're tempted to stop and photograph the dinos on I-40 East, you can save yourself the risk of stopping on the highway because you can drive right up to those same dinos once inside the park.

And the realistic looking dinosaurs here, by the way, are NOT the goofy looking ones with mannequins in their mouths. Those are 10 miles down the road at Stewart's Petrified Wood at the Adamana exit.

[Dean Jeffrey, 07/08/2002]

Drive-by dinosaur.

Drivable Dino Tour

Here is a picture I took on our trip back to Tucson from Durango, CO. It is the mysterious dinosaur mentioned in a previous tip, part of a petrified forest/ceramic dino drivable tour, museum and gift shop (the name is erased from my memory). They also had a buffalo petting zoo area, which was very depressing, but I had to pull off the road and see the get pics of the Dinos. (didn't get any with the mannequins in the dino's mouth...they were along the highway and I passed them going 75 : (

[Molly K.Burke, 06/02/2002]

Dinosaurs spotted along I-40.

Random Dinosaurs

Along Hwy 40 traveling westbound with my family we saw several Random Dinosaurs seemingly racing across the surrounding flatlands. I believe this may be near some Dinosaur related theme park. They're actually on both sides of the road.

[Jason Graham, 05/02/2002]

Tipster Lee Ann reports: "Many of them are lovely scenes of dinos attacking and eating other, less fortunate dinos. They help advertise a dinosaur museum in Holbrook. When we travel to California, these roadside dinosaurs are always a highlight of the trip for my seven-year-old son."


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