From Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon

I had a day in Flagstaff to deal with final logistics before heading up to the Grand Canyon. I took part of that day to visit the Museum of Northern Arizona, another showcase of local history and archaeology (not to mention a gallery of Grand Canyon art).

My drive up to the Grand Canyon from Flagstaff had a side-trip. I chose to take the slightly longer eastern route, which conveniently passed by two National Monuments.

Sunset Crater National Monument covers an area that was volcanically active as recently as 1000 years ago. This area is immediately east of the San Francisco peaks, which are the remnants of a giant volcano. There is ample archaeological evidence from the time around 1100AD that local residents were affected by the eruptions in this area. The lava flow pictured at left dates from that time.

On the same side loop as the Sunset Crater NM is the Wupatki National Monument. This is a collection of ancient dwellings that appear to have been abandoned around the time of the Sunset Crater eruptions. Many of them were preserved by CCC action in the 1930s. Those pictured (and quite a few more that are not accessible to the public) are on a loop off the main road heading from Flagstaff toward Page, AZ.

Well before reaching Page, the Navajo community of Cameron is the turning point for heading west toward the Grand Canyon. The road passes to the south of the canyons formed by the Little Colorado River, a tributary of the Colorado. I stopped along the way to see some of these canyons, and got to experience a helicopter flying inside the canyon (something not permitted in Grand Canyon National Park).


Finally!

En route to the Grand Canyon Village, I stopped at a few pullouts...