September 23rd, Flagstaff and Williams, AZ

Today we took a day trip north on 89A to Flagstaff. It is the shorter, more scenic route, but also the steep windy route.

We visited Wupatki National Monument where there is evidences of past volcanic activity.

Remains of a lava flow

We hiked up the Lenox Crater trail and made it to the top.












There are ruins of several Native American Pueblo settlements scattered throughout the park. This Wupatki "Tall House" was a multistory Sinagua pueblo dwelling of more than 100 rooms in the early 11th century after the last volcanic eruption, which improved the soils ability to retain water and thus agricultural productivity.

From there we drove over to Williams, AZ and walked around some of the shops in the Route 66 downtown loop and had dinner before driving back to camp in Sedona.