Road Trip to Northern Arizona

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Thursday, 26 April 2018 - Enjoyed a slower start to the day exploring Walnut Canyon cliff homes built by the Sinagua people, then visited Sunset Crater with its 1000-year-old lava flows and volcanic landscape, hiked around the foothills amid black rock and wildflowers, and drove north to Wupatki National Monument where we walked among ancient pueblos before heading toward the Painted Desert and eventual drive to Winslow.

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The day began a little slow today - we needed some rest after the day before. Today we would explore around Flagstaff. First to Walnut Canyon which is very close to the city. It is in the canyon that people 1000 years ago made homes in the cliff walls.

Unfortunately the caves and small homes were not all that picturesque in the noon sun. This is the bark of a Ponderosa Pine - which is loaded with texture and pattern.
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Our next stop was Sunset Crater which erupted 1000 years ago - about the same time the people in Walnut Canyon left. There was a period of intense seismic activity within the volcano before its 1064 eruption that gave the Sinagua people ample time to collect possessions and flee the area.

Sunset Crater with its black rock slope - it has been 1000 years and still no growth.
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In the foreground is a lava field and in the background are the San Francisco Peaks

The Sunset Crater eruption produced a blanket of ash and lapilli covering an area of more than 810 square miles and forced the temporary abandonment of settlements of the local Sinagua people
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Small yellow flowers growing in the black soil

We hiked around the lava flows in the foothills of Sunset Crater
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In the same park but much further north and much lower in elevation (about 2000 feet) in the Painted Desert are ancient pueblos in the Wupatki National Monument.
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The pueblo walls were constructed from thin, flat blocks of the local Moenkopi sandstone giving the pueblos their distinct red color. Held together with mortar, many of the walls still stand.
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A rainstorm in the distance - the pueblo has a great view of the Painted Desert
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The Sinagua constructed an expansive three-story pueblo called the Wupatki Ruin that contains nearly 100 rooms. This is the largest of the ruins and was built over 700 years ago.

Hoping to get to the Petrified Forest after lunch we drove from Flagstaff to the park. We read the guidebook and had time to spend one hour in the forest before they closed at 6:00. We drove the 2 hours and arrived at 5:00 - as we drove up the gate was open and a car was coming out. We were excited and began to enter when the gates began to close. Turns out they have had budget cuts and close at 5:00. So we turned around and drove 30 minutes to Winslow.
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