04/01/02:
Stopped off at Montezuma Castle National Monument south of Flagstaff off of I-17. One cliff dwelling that has pretty much been plastered over to restore/preserve it. Can't get near the cliff dwelling and not much else. 15 minute visit.
Heading north on I-17 again I swung off onto AZ-179, mainly because the atlas showed a couple of hiking trails and some possible camping. What a drive! Red Rock Country is sandstone bluffs and peaks rising up from deep canyon floors. Only problem is National Forest Service wants $5/day or $15/week to park along road so no hiking. Golden Eagle doesn't work here either. Also no camping except in their campgrounds. Nice drive though.
Swung over onto I-40 to Walnut Canyon National Monument. Many more cliff dwelling here. The Island Trail takes you down 185 feet via steps and then circles a peak. Ledges provide the overhang or alcoves required for many cliff dwellings. The trail goes right by some and you can inspect them up close. Many other cliff dwellings can be seen across 1000 foot deep canyon. Must have been hell to visit the neighbors around there.
04/02/02:
Found camping area in Coconino National Forest directly across from Sunset Volcano National Monument off US-89. Last night mid/upper 40's but really windy. Ran/walked 30 minutes this morning. Ran/walked out because of some steep (for me) hills and ran back. Got near crest but saw steep decline I'd have to come back up. Main thing here is to keep the heart rate under control at 7500 feet so I turned back.
Douglas firs, large Junipers, nearby valleys, distant mountain ranges and snow topped peaks made for a nice run. This is elk country but I didn't see any. Just a couple of buzzards soaring overhead waiting for me to fall down.
Drove across US-89 to Sunset Crater National Monument at 8am this morning. Not much here. The Lava Flow Trail is a mile long and goes through a lava bed along the base of Sunset Crater. The lava bed looks pretty much like a road that has been torn up with lots of black crumbled rock and large slabs of what would look like blacktop. Sunset Crater itself is a volcano rising 1000 feet and is 900 years old. And that was about it for that National Monument.
Wupatki National Monument is 20 miles north, reachable by US-89 or a park road. Here a number of ancient pueblo ruins are available with trails running right by them. A nice guide to the ruins made things more interesting too.