They towed us to Flagstaff on Sunday and now we’re at the Freightliner shop. They have the RV in the shop and working on it now.We had to move into a motel for a few days so we did some sightseeing. We did a loop drive out of Flagstaff to Sunset Crater National Monument. Sunset Crater is the youngest volcano which exploded in AD 1065.After the erosion it created more than 600 hills and mountains in the San Francisco volcanic field.There is a large lava field and red cinder cones.
We walked along this vast lava flow. When a volcano erupts life is destroyed and life starts anew.Ponderosa pines grow and flowers grow out of the rocks.
They have a nice paved trail that follows around the crater with cinder cones.
San Francisco Mountains
Next Stop Wupatki Ntl. Monument
Wupatki is a landscape of legacy.There are 5 of the largest pueblo ruins in Wupatki. All the dwellings were built by the Anasazi and Sinagua Indians in 12 /13 th centuries.After the volcano erupted resulting in the ash and lava and making the land infertile they moved away into the desert. Wukoki Pueblo was the first one we visited.
Wukoki Ruins
The next place we stopped was visitors center and the main ruins of the Wupatki.
Wupatki pueblo is the largest of the ruins. People gathered here building a 100 room pueblo with a community room and a ballcourt.
Wupatki pueblo
Ball court
Next we went to Lomaki ruins.Lomaki means Hopi for beautiful house. It sits along a small canyon and is 2 stories with 9 rooms.
It was a interesting and great day learning about the volcano and the Indian pueblos and its people.
