Day 3 - March 31 - Flagstaff

After Leah and James dug into their candy-filled Easter baskets and hunted for eggs in the hotel room, we set off for a day at three national monuments in the Flagstaff area.  First on the agenda was hiking around Sunset Crater Volcano, which is part of a volcano field in the San Francisco Peaks region. According to the guide book, the volcano's last eruption was in 1085 AD and the lava flow extended 6 miles (with the volcanic ash covering more than 800 square miles), so it was a pretty big explosion.

Here's Leah in front of the volcano getting ready for the hike:

The hiking trail wove through petrified black lava and offered stunning views with the snowcapped mountains in the background:

The next stop was Wutapaki National Monument, which is just a short drive from Sunset Crater.  After the volcano erupted, some of surrounding land benefited from the volcanic ash, as it helped the arid soil retain moisture and make the dry climate a bit more inhabitable. There are quite a few Native American ruins around Wutapaki and from what we've read, it sounds like many of them were built 30-40 years after the eruption.

Our third stop was Walnut Canyon National Monument, which is a cliff dwelling and Native American ruins near a large canyon in the Flagstaff area.  Unlike Wutapaki, these canyons are walnut colored sandstone (not red).  We don't have any pictures of this stop, because the kids were overtired/trying to sleep in the car, but it was a nice end to a gorgeous day!

We hope to have more fun tomorrow.