ARIZONA! Grand Canyon, Wupatki Ruins, Sunset Crater Volcano, and Walnut Canyon

Driving back into Arizona through the Navajo Nation was a real homecoming.  Husband and I used to work in the Four Corners area - it was fun to enter AZ from a less traveled route and still see familiar sights.  It was a long drive (350 miles) from Moab, UT to Williams, AZ.  We booked a week at the Canyon Gateway RV Park.  The park offers all pull-through sites, nice restrooms and showers and laundry.  There are also mature trees between the spots that offer some shade, though the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed sleeping with the windows open most nights.

The Grand Canyon is the one National Park that Husband and I had visited on prior occasions.  It was Brother and Sister's first time visiting.  Though I don't think it affected the kids enjoyment, I was a little disappointed by the hazy air conditions as a result of a number of wildfires burning in the area.  We didn't know that there were wildfires prior to our arrival.  The morning conditions were much more clear than in the afternoon.  This is the best picture I was able to take.

We visited the watchtower for the first time.  Though the air inside was a bit stuffy and stagnant it was fun to climb up and observe the inside decor.

We also visited the Tusayan Ruin museum and 800 year-old ruins and heard the Ranger Talk.  Though we had been through the area before, I found it very enjoyable and educational.  I love seeing the textiles, woven products, and pottery from the time period.  It makes you appreciate the "stuff" we have today and seeming ease by which we can obtain things.

While in the park we also had a unique opportunity to observe wildlife up close!  This elk was right by the road and I was able to take pictures right out of the passenger window as it grazed and raised its head to look at motorcyclists driving by.  I've never seen one up so close and for such a long time.  We could observe the fuzz on the antlers!  We also saw lizards, a deer and a very tame fat squirrel that practically walked right up to us!

We were going to spend a second day at the Grand Canyon, but the air quality was really poor, so we started considering what other sites were in the area.  To my surprise there were three other National Monuments!  While we had visited Walnut Canyon over 15 years ago, Wupatki and Sunset Crater were new to us. We had an amazing time at all three.

Wupatki Ruins and Sunset Crater are so close to each other that they are sort of combined, though they each have their own visitor center.  We entered from the North, or the Wupatki side in the morning which was good because it is lower in elevation and a great deal warmer.  The first site we came to was the Lomaki Ruins.  There are three buildings/pueblos on the trail.  The last one is the most intact and quite spectacular.  They are all built on the edge of rocks overlooking a wash.

Walking near ruins that date back 800 years makes you think about how much life has changed for humans.  I also think about the difference between wants and needs and how we spend our time.  One can imagine that life was more difficult, food more scarce, and survival not such a surety.  There is a middle way of life somewhere between the destructive over-consumption of our society and the scarcity endured by prehistoric peoples.  I wonder if we will find that middle path.

However wonderful these ruins they don't compare to what you find when you get to the 100 room Wupatki Pueblo.

In addition to the pueblo there is a ball court and ceremonial room.  There is a beautiful path and self-guided tour.  One of the most unbelievable thing I learned is that the National Park Service actually RENTED out the pueblo to NPS Rangers in the 1920s for $5/month.  Can you believe that?  First, that NPS had employees living in the 800-year old ruins and secondly that they charged them!  Wow.

One last interesting fact about the Wupatki Pueblo is that they built using the existing rock.  Here is a picture from the back showing how the existing rock is the foundation for the second floor.

So we were at the Wupatki Visitor Center and ruins for a while (kids got their Junior Ranger Badges) and by the time we were done we were not sure we even wanted to stop at the Sunset Crater Volcano - it didn't seem like it would be as interesting.  Additionally we were ready to be out of the sun and in the air conditioning.  However, we were pleasantly surprised that the Volcano is 2,000 feet higher in elevation and the weather was much cooler.  Also the afternoon was overcast and cool.  As a result we decided to take a walk around the accessible trail - this is a place I want to go again to do the longer hike.  It was beautiful.

We then proceeded to the second visitor center and the kids finished up their second Junior Ranger books of the day.  There we heard stories in English and Apache and Navajo about the volcano.  It was excellent.  This Hopi painting and the story were in the visitor center.

It ended up being a very long day, but really enjoyable.  Our final adventure of this 12 week extravaganza was at Walnut Canyon.  Because we had visited this park before we knew what was in store.  It's really hard to fathom how people lived like this.  In order to view the ruins you have to walk down 240 steps and around a mile path on the side of the canyon wall.  It is wonderful, but I just don't seem to be able to relax with our four-year-old girl bouncing around.  I forced her to hold my hand the entire time and she complained about it the entire time, but hey, at least she didn't slip off of a cliff, right?

In this picture we are standing with our backs to a ruin while looking across the canyon at other ruins in the cliff.

This picture below is taken on the other side of the mountain at even more dwellings.  I didn't see a tally of the number that exist, but there are many!

It was a great hike and Sister was so proud of herself for taking every step on her own!  The kids earned their Junior Ranger badges after a very nice talk with the Ranger on duty.

While I am sad that our 12-week adventure is over, I am also glad to get back home and to start the new semester.  This has been such a fun adventure and we have seen and done so many things! I know that I will be planning the next trip very soon so that I can look forward to the next outing.