Resting in Flagtaff
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2008
1
5
17
Trip End
Aug 17, 2008
Flagstaff,
Arizona,
United States
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Ok, just so everyone knows. Arizona is just as crazy as China. China is a very big country, it's just spread out. While trying to find out what the time difference was between Texas and Australia I had the opportunity to see that China only has one time zone. So, from North to South, East to West it's the same time. Now, Arizona does not participate in the President's daylight savings time like the rest of the Nation does. Is there a giant clock at it's border announcing to the world what time they say it is - NO. It's as if they don't want anyone to know that when it's 7:00AM in Winslow, AZ it will be 7:00AM in Los Angeles, CA.
So, I get to the KOA a lot earlier than I would have ever imagined. The people were pleasent and had no problems letting me sign in once they found out my space was empty. I visited with the guy working in the office and he told me that they had been worried about their summer occupancy rates because of the cost of fuel. He said they had been less than 50% full through mid-May. Then it began picking up with people from the south. He told me that most everyone who can leave southern AZ in the summer does, and they leave the State for cooler areas. Well, it seems that this year a great deal of them are heading no further than northern AZ, and that's sasving this RV park's bottom line. He says that from Thursday - Sunday they are at 90% full or better. Sunday - Thursday they drop down to around 60%.
Yesterday was shot with time lag. I'm still not sure what time it is, but I just don't care. Today I went to the Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments. This is a place Pat & I came to on our first trip to the area. Wupatki NM is the location of the Wupatki Pueblo ruins that date back to the 1100's. Sunset Crater Volcano NM was formed between 1040 and 1100. They are joined together by a loop road. I started at the Sunset entry point where the elevation was 7000 ft and the temp was in the mid 80's, a dry mid 80's. I stopped at the Lenox Crater trail to have a look at the lava flow that was next to the road. The only ground cover here is volcanic cinder ash/stone.
Lava Flow
Tall Ponderaso Pines cover the hills, and make listening to the winds a joy. On the ther side of the street was a hiking trail up to the Lenox Crater. I go for a look, and the sign says 1/2 mile - that's 1 mile round trip for you armchair hikers. I really wanted to do this because Pat would have never thought I would. [That's just because she took me on a Llama death march a while back.] The gound is like a gravel sand dune with an attitude. It was steep. So I take off up this slope taking really small steps. I have no hiking shoes so I could see me very easily slipping, falling, breaking. Then the altitude kicks in, and I'm panting after what seemed miles, but was closer to 50 feet. Young kids skipped past me, old folks out on a day trip from the home passed me, but I perservered and kept going up. I kept thinking I'd see one of the kids rolling down the side, and one of the old farts fallen over a log, but I didn't. We all made it to the top, yea. I sat down on a log to catch my breath, and dry off a bit. Took a few pics which you see here, then headed back down. I thought the downhill leg would be easier. Not for Tom. Going down deep gravel is no easier than going up - you slide. So, I was carefull, and all of those speedy people whe passed me going up passed me once again going downn. I made it & I was glad that I had taken the hike.From there I took off for the pueblo ruins leaving the higher elevations behind. Soon I was in desert country, and the temps were stretching for 100. Now you could see red sandstone laying ontop of the volcanic ash/cinder. I drove over to the Wukoki Pueblo, and it seemed to be sitting on a rise. You could see it from a few miles away, and be seen as well I suppose. These ruins, though not ancient by any other standards, are ancient to us - it's about all we've got. The indians used the nearby pine for beams and frames, and the sandstone for the bricks and flooring. The Park Service says that as many as 3 families would have lived here together. The drawing shows just how much more of the Pueblo there had been originally. It was pretty neat, and pretty hot so I moved on.
My last stop was the Wupatki Pueblo. A massive complex with out buildings of all kinds. They have a self-guiding tour that is very interesting. Kids and things hanging from all parts kept me from taking more pictures, but the two I got I feel capture its presence.
The whole trip took less than a half day, and could have easily been longer for people in better shape. I'm sure that I told myself last time as well, but taking the Pueblo side first thing in the morning and working back to the Crater area would give you the benefit of seeing the desert items in the cooler part of the day. Going up into the Crater area mid-day or later would find not as warm temps, shade and breezes to make hiking as comfortable as it could be. Just don't ignore the altitude..
Pretty flowers at the RV Park
Comments
Flagtafff?
Hey Dad,
Flagtafff looks really pretty. I remember FLAGSTAFF was very pretty as well, and strangely similar. It is especially beautiful there in the winter.
Nice ruins, those look really neat!
Love, Greg & kids
Winter
I have a different memory of a winter in Flagstaff. Being exiled from the Grand Canyon with 104 fever and a diagnosis of pneumonia to come to Flagstaff, and receiving a suggestion to continue on to lower elevation. Then the memory of someone driving down a twisty mountain road to Sedona.