Good morning! The Williams, AZ area has been keeping us very busy. We had no idea that there is so much to see here. Did any of you know about the volcanos and lava flows north of Flagstaff???? New discovery for us :) We have only 3 days left in this area; on Monday we travel to Blythe, Ca.
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| Downtown Sedona, nestled in this beautiful canyon. Mountains, red rocks, monoliths like these surround this little town (tourist trap). We had Roscoe with us (too hot to leave him in the car), so we ate lunch at Taos Cantina where we could sit at the outside patio. Roscoe got his own water and food dishes; he was super well-behaved. It was so much fun to sit outside, relax, watch people go by and to simply enjoy the weather and scenery. |
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| Sliding Rock State Park is just outside Sedona. We stopped there on the way home. The 3 of us walked the trail, took lots of pictures. It was a beautiful warm day, so lots of people were swimming and sliding on the rocks. This area, too, is surrounded by beautiful canyon mountains. |
Yesterday we went to the Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments, twelve miles north of Flagstaff. The two monument areas are on a 35 mile loop that was completely awesome. We started at the south end and travelled north, so the Sunset Crater Volcano area was first.
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| We hiked the Lava Flow Trail. How cool is that, to be walking amongst a lava flow in Arizona! |
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While on the Lava Flow Trail, we had this beautiful view of San Fancisco Peaks, elevation 12,633 feet. This is the highest point in Arizona, is very close to Williams, and is a very prominent view for miles.
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We continued heading north on the Loop Road. Finally, a closer view of Sunset Crater, elevation 8039 feet.
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| Sunset Crater Volcano |
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Painted Desert. Again, we had no idea what all we would be seeing while driving on Loop Road. All of a sudden, over a hill and right in front of us, the Painted Desert came into view. We stopped at a pull-out to view the vista and to absorb the beauty surrounding us. As the drive continued, we got closer and closer. Wow!
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We arrived at the north end of the loop, the Wupatki National Monument area. This national treasure protects the ancient dwellings of puebloan peoples. Curt and I walked the trails, viewed, and took pictures of six different sites (yes, our feet and knees hurt at the end of the day). Pueblos we visited include: Wupatki, Wukoki, Nalakihu, Citadel, Lomaki, and Box Canyon dwellings.
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| Wukoki Pueblo ruin. Based on its location, this most likely was a "lookout" for some of the larger dwellings down the road. |
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| Both of us had a ball crawling around in this pueblo. This is just a sample of the dozens of pictures taken. On the hike back to the parking lot, we both had to wipe lots of red dirt off our knees and butts. |
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| We arrived back in Williams mid-afternoon and were VERY hungry. This picture hints at what the little town of Williams is about. Yes, it is another tourist trap, but its history includes being a Historic Route 66 town. |
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Station 66 Italian Bistro is where we chose to have lunch. Back in the day, before Interstate 40, this was a gas station on Route 66. You can see some of the restored gas pumps, etc. It's a very cute setting for a nice outside lunch.
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We haven't taken many pictures of the Williams attractions yet. I do plan to take pictures of the train & depot, especially the things that Mom, Jen & Tim, and Neil & Carol will remember from our train trip to the Grand Canyon ten years ago. Also, we are taking a driving trip to the Grand Canyon tomorrow, so I will probably take a few pictures while there :)
Love to you all,
Gloria, Curt & Roscoe
