Joan is my rock star - our visit to a volcano and two ancient pueblos

Today was a contrast of geology and geography. It was also a day that started relatively early for us.

Joan in front of the Sunset Crater Visitor Center

During the last several years of Joan’s teaching career, she taught 8^th grade science. She not only taught her 150-plus students each year, she taught me by osmosis because I often sat through the education videos she previewed at home.

We were showered by 7:15 a.m. and out the door by 8 a.m. for today’s adventure.

Knowing her interest in all things natural, I found an interesting geological site just about 45 miles from our camp. Sunset Crater Volcano and the Wupatki National Monument share roughly the same geography north of Flagstaff, Arizona.

Sunset Crater Volcano

They are quite different, but linked through history by an explosive eruption about 800 years ago that likely changed the lives of the native people living at the Wupatki Pueblo and other pueblos in the area.

On the way up the mountain outside of Flagstaff we climbed above 8,000-feet and passed dozens of bicyclists participating in some kind of rally.  From the elevation and the grade, the folks involved in the contest were obviously very well conditioned folks.

I was excited to be able to use my senior pass, which I just purchased yesterday, only to find out that today was “free fee day” for all federal parks.  Either way, it was a free day for us.

Joan doing her touchy-feely thing

We started the day at the Visitor Center where we picked up a map and some information on hikes and we headed to the Bonito Lava Flow Trail. We were also warned that souvenir rock hunting carried a pretty stiff penalty - $250 per rock.

Following the well groomed trail we descended down into the Sunset Crater where we used the self-guided book to learn about the effects of the eruption and the recovery of the area over the past 8 centuries.

The rivers of lava reminded Joan of our time on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The eastside of Sunset Crater Volcano

Ponderosa Pines grow out of what appears to be rock and volcanic ash. Wildflowers and other plans grow out of places that look very inhospitable. We took about 45 minutes to complete the 1-mile hike around the crater. Even Joan said she learned a few new things, which seems impossible because she already knows everything.

We continued along the 35-mile loop off Highway 89 to several overlooks on our way to the Wupatki National Monument. We stopped at the Cinder Hills Overlook and the Painted Desert Vista and a couple stops that aren’t even on the map.

Joan with the Wupatki Monument sign

As we descended the mountain on the east side the scenery changed from a pine forest to a stark desert in a matter of about 10 miles. Everywhere we looked there was black cinder, the obvious result of the eruption in the 1100s.

When I was a youngster, my grandmother, Ethel Smith, was an admirer of Native American culture. She had framed pictures of Tribal Chiefs throughout her Hollywood Hills home and she often talked to me about the history of Native American tribes.

She admired their culture and deplored the way they had been treated by our government.

Joan and me in Wukoki ruins

It is with that information as a backdrop that I looked forward to visiting the ruins at the Wukoki Pueblo and the Wupatki Pueblo today. The idea that people, without any of the conveniences we take for granted, could create a community in such a hostile environment as the desert of Arizona has always fascinated me.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, pot collectors and souvenir hunters did terrible damage to these sites, but with some enlightenment the destruction of these sites was stopped with the designation of them as National Monuments in the 1920s.

Interestingly, the native peoples are opposed to the reconstruction of these sites. In their culture the life cycle of people and dwellings should not be interrupted or changed. Still, the native people continue to come to these sites to connect in their own way with their ancestors.

We adhered to the rules of not straying from the path, but were excited that we were allowed to ascend the Wukoki Pueblo and have our picture taken in the “living room.”

The Wupatki ruins

Even folks with the primitive tools they possessed did an amazing job of building structures with the available materials. The integration of existing rock formations with walls made from stones from the surrounding area could be the envy of Frank Lloyd Wright.

At one point today, I marveled to Joan that perhaps the Anasazi people, which is the umbrella term used to describe the Hopi, Navajo and Zuni people of the area, were the inspiration for Wright.

The mountains ear Sedona

We spent more than two hours visiting the two small sites, which are within one mile of each other. The temperatures reached into the mid-80s, nearly 10 degrees higher than it was in the crater just a few miles away. A little hot and tired we decided to explore the area of Oak Creek Canyon, which runs south of Flagstaff, about 30 miles to Sedona and a little beyond.

Apparently we were not alone in that idea. Traffic was fairly heavy along the 89A route which parallels I-17, but we were in no hurry, so no problem.

With all the stops I made to take photos it took more than two hours to make the 89A loop through Sedona. The beautiful rock formations, winding river and trees made it a stunningly beautiful drive.

Scenery south of Sedona

With advice from a lady at the Oak Creek Canyon Visitor Center, I abandoned my plans to take a two lane road from Sedona back to Williams. She strongly suggested that if we wanted to get home before the witching hour we should find our way back to I-17 and head home, which we did.

Sedona was wall-to-wall people and a solid line of traffic through town. It looked like a beautiful place, but we were simply too tired and hot to try and find a parking place and stop today. We did see some beautiful homes that had some incredible views.

It took us less than half the time to find our way back to the trailer after getting back on I-17 south of Sedona. The ride home gave us a little preview of what our trip will be like in a couple weeks when we head south through Phoenix to Tucson. Looks like it will be almost all downhill. That is a good thing.

One of the advantages of our type of camping is that we have most of the comforts and conveniences of home. So before we left this morning, Joan tossed the beef stew she had been preparing the night before into the crock pot with some frozen stew veggies and set it on low.

When we arrived home we had a nice hot meal waiting for us. I flipped on the television and we watched the prime time college game on ABC. The air conditioner is going as well. So we’re not really roughing it.