It’s Sunday the 11th which is Mothers day so hi to all the mothers out there. It’s time to leave and head towards home. After everything was put away, loaded up with water and dumping the waste tanks we went out by the highway and waited for Ron and Jane so we could go to Rock Springs for breakfast. Was that place was so busy at 9:30, we had to wait 45 minutes to get seated. The breakfast was good but the banana cream pie we bought to take with us was mediocre at best. After saying our goodbyes to Ron and Jane we headed north to Flagstaff where we plan on staying north of town at the Bonita Campgrounds which is a National Forest CG near Sunset Crater Volcanic National Monument. After getting set up in site 32 we relaxed, played some dice and had supper. There is no cell service and we could not get a clear shot of the sky for satellite TV.
On Monday morning when we woke up it was 28 degrees outside. I don’t think it’s going to be shorts weather today. We are sitting in the back watching the sunrise through the pine trees. After breakfast it was off to visit Walnut Canyon National Monument just east of Flagstaff. Walnut Canyons cliff dwellings were built between 1125 and 1250 AD. The Canyon builders, the Sinagua (Spanish for “without water”), had to carry and store their water supply into their dwellings as the stream below did not flow year round. The Sinagua homes remained largely undisturbed until the 1880’s when the railroad brought souvenir hunters into the ancient dwellings. The visitor’s center onsite tells of this story. Even though you must walk 240 steps down to see the dwellings it was worth it. Oh! And 240 step back up, it was good they had lots of rest areas along the trail which is at an elevation of 7,000 feet making it a little more difficult for us who are not used to higher elevations.
Some of the cliff dwellings viewed from across a canyon.
This area is called “the island” and has cliff dwellings all around the perimeter. It was believed that they moved around to different dwellings as the seasons changed. Either to stay cooler by being in the shadows or warmer by being in the direct sunlight.
How many steps do we have left? She’s still smiling.
The railroads brought in hundreds of people who destroyed many of the dwellings and pillaged the artifacts which included pieces of cloth, pottery and food remains. They even dynamited the walls to get more light into the dwellings.
The Sinagua built their fires against the back walls. The blackened areas and the smoke followed the roof to the front where they had small outlet vents. Even so, I would believe it had to be quite smoky in there.
Me standing in front of the entrance and a small vent hole of a dwelling. Note the short entrance door.
Sandy is checking out some of the ruins.
Here are a few pictures of the flora and fauna in the area.
This little guy tried his best to camouflage himself.
Until next time,
Dave and Sandy
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