Spring Break Trip - Day 6

Before we left Fort Worth I had hoped to leave Flagstaff for a northern trip to the Four Corners area (including stops at Monument Valley and Mesa Verde National Park), but I found several reasons not to along the way (time, tire, weather). To be honest, the little town of Flagstaff has been growing on me... We stayed close to the hotel today and will leave for Albuquerque tomorrow. First, we drove over to the Meteor Crater. I've seen it from the air, but nothing prepared me for the immense size and hidden inner fear I felt when I considered how something relatively small made it... The museum was very good and we had a nice guided tour of the crater rim. Lunch was at Subway. Next, we drove over to US-89 and took a tour along the road connecting the Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments. Both were interesting - the first was just one of several mini-volcanos that popped out of the ground less than 1000 years ago (recent enough to entomb some Indian towns in the lava) and the second was a series of well-built Indian Pueblos scattered around the otherwise empty Painted Desert. We took hikes in both places (and the kids did a couple more Junior Ranger projects). The hardened lava on both sides of the road was even more impressive than the Valley of Fire (see MAR 2009). A highlight at Wupatki was a natural feature the Native American incorporated into their settlement called the "blow-hole." It provided a jet of cold air from an underground series of caves (what a great thing that must have been during a hot summer!). I was impressed by the whole area - certainly not a boring sandy desert. The colors were tremendous (certainly worth the namesake). I've got to say that I really like Northern Arizona: mountains, amazing terrain, trees, temperatures. Capped off the afternoon with a stop at the nearby Cameron (Indian) Trading Post. It was HUGE and had a restaurant, where Nicky and I tried the local fare: Navajo Taco and Navajo Stew. We bought lots of souvenirs before heading back to our hotel and fitting in one more swim. Kids definitely getting tired from the trip (sort of dreading Sunday night/Monday morning...).