Sunset Crater and Wupatki Ruins..............

Three states in the west are enduring historic high temperatures in this heatwave, Arizona being one of them. Though the temperatures aren't as bad as Phoenix (111-117 degrees), it is around the 100 degree mark, which makes hiking out of the question for us. We have spent a few days hunkered down in our air-conditioned RV, waiting out the worst of the weather. Good thing we have a lot of hobbies and interests!

enjoying some reading time outside before it gets unbearable

staying cool .... busy sewing for Jack!

Happy Father's Day phone call!

another quilt for Jack!

oh, one more!

and a little hat...this was a stretch for me to make!

love the puppy material!

fruits of a few days of a heat wave....ready to ship!

Tuesday we ventured out VERY EARLY in the morning to savor a couple of hours in Flagstaff before temperatures got too bad. There are three national monuments located fairly close to one another, and all of them were on our wish list of places to visit. For more information, click here for Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, here for Wupatki National Monument, and here for Walnut Creek National Monument.

Sunset Crater Volcano was our first stop. It was just so fascinating to walk among cinder cones and lava flows! We followed the 1-mile trail along the base of Sunset Crater, and walked among the Bonita Lava Flow. There is also a short paved trail with a viewing deck looking down into the area.

isn't this amazing?

heading for the Lava Trail

the paved trail is great too

veering off to the one-mile trail through the lava field

It is always interesting to see how the land recovers from a volcanic eruption. Trees, bushes and flowers are growing in the cinder environment, and we spotted rabbits too, which indicates to us that there is sufficient plant life to support small mammals.

lichen breaks down the lava into soil

love the flowers!

aren't these just so cool?

over hill and dale

heading down to the base of Sunset Crater Volcano

the lava field is amazing

trees! in the cinder!

I guess some winter visitors come with sleds to slide down Sunset Crater?

nature's art

lots of lava

the lava flow is amazing to me

walking through the lava

cinder cone hills and lava flows - wow!

heading back up

Some of the dead trees are like pieces of art in nature. So pretty with the fantastic background of the San Francisco Mountain range in the distance, and the cinder cones all around the immediate area.

another piece of nature's artwork

lava, cinder cones, San Francisco mountains....amazing scenery

sputter cones

sputter cone view

another view of a sputtercone

pretty big!

still on the trail...heading up

incredible landscape

back on the paved trail

flowers getting a hold in the cinder

more....

another piece of "art"

There are a couple of other trails in this area, but with the weather situation, we skipped them and headed out to the Wupatki National Monument. Though it was still before 10am, the temperatures were already starting to soar into the unpleasant zone. We stopped at an overlook for another view of Sunset Crater Volcano, and the valley below. Amazing to think what went on here geologically many many years ago. We were fascinated by the recovery and the growth of so many pine trees and flowering bushes. There is still a fissure in the valley below, with steam vents, but we didn't see them from the viewpoint.

another view of Sunset Crater Volcano

from the viewpoint...you can see across the valley

there is a fissure down there somewhere with steam vents

Driving towards Wupatki, we still looked at the landscape in amazement....the recovery of the land after a volcanic eruption is quite something to see.

recovering from the volcanic eruption

Before long, we came to the Painted Desert Scenic Overlook, but the morning was very hot and the air was not too clear. I'm sure the view is awesome when the weather is nice. We could see the colors of the desert somewhat, but it was very misty.

heading towards Wupatki

the views all around were nice!

the painted desert view was a bit misty

As we entered Wupatki National Monument, the weather soared to the 100 degree mark, and we knew our morning of sightseeing was coming to an end. Wupatki has several different ruin sites to explore, and some of them require only a 0.2 mile walk. We chose those to explore, and decided we'd come back early the next morning to explore some of the other sites. The heat was just overwhelming!

Our first stop was the Wukoki Ruins, and we noticed a lot of people there! Turns out, it was a group of young park employees working very hard to restore some of the ruins. I really admired the hard work of these young folks in this heat! WOW!

already too hot!

short trail to Wukoki ruins (thankfully!)

oh baby....its HOT

the ruins are in fantastic shape...and visitors are allowed up there

standing in the ruins....amazing views of the arid land around too...must have been hard to make a living here

The landscape around the ruins was interesting too. It seemed like some of the red clay rocks were sliding down or crumbling, making us wonder how secure the rocks really were. So very interesting to take a peek at how the ancients lived!

large sheets of rock collapsed in the distance...wonder why?

young park employees working on restoring some of the ruins (they are TOUGH! it is HOT!)

another view from inside the ruins

these walls are in good shape!

lots of rooms here...and very small doorways

only 10 am and its unbearable!

Next on the auto loop was the Visitor Center and the ruins located behind it. It was way too hot to enjoy, and the trail was 0.5 miles, with a suggested visit time of one hour. Way too long in that heat, so we decided to save it for another day.

Heading toward the Visitor Center....the views are gorgeous! Great colors!

The ruins behind the Visitor Center.....we will come back to explore...its way too hot!

Interesting! So much to see!

The landscape was so variable as we drove to the next set of ruins....cinder cones, prairie, desert...a little bit of everything! One thing that remained constant though was the unrelenting heat.

driving through cinder cones

and prairie

The Citadel Pueblo site had two sets of ruins. The Citadel sits on top of a small hill, so the walk up gave us some gorgeous views. Once at the top, near the entrance way, we had a great view of the sinkhole next to the ruins. We also had a 360 degree view of the surrounding area...a harsh environment to live in.

The Nalakihu ruin was closest to the parking lot, with several rooms still in pretty good shape. I'm not sure how many families lived here, but no McMansions that we saw! Funny how things evolve. So interesting to me. I am fascinated by all the different cultures and lifestyles, and the seemingly quick evolution through the years. Just during my lifetime I can see how lifestyles have changed through the generations!

two ruins at this site

Nalakiku ruin

lots of rooms here .....  

nicely restored

so many connecting rooms

heading up to the Citadel

the view across the land

more ruins in the distance

heading up to the entrance to the Citadel....check out the sinkhole on the right!

wow!

looks like lava rocks were used here too

this trail is getting pretty high up now....and no railing...yikes!

weaving our way into the entrance of the Citadel

inside the Citadel....not in good shape!

view from the top of the Citadel...looks like rain out there

need a hand Susie? It is a little scary heading down from here

Once we had enough of the heat, we headed back to Williams. On the way back, some of the dark clouds opened up and we had a bit of cooling rain. We also drove through a very small dust storm, and can only imagine how severe that can become in some of these desert areas. We are now in monsoon season, and hope we don't get to experience that while we are driving! We are learning so much on this journey of ours!!

mini dust storm (after a rain shower)

Back home!  Our view of cows outside our front window....sometimes horses too!