Prepare yourselves! This was our busiest day so there are going to be a LOT of pictures and stories for me to tell. We left Flagstaff pretty early the following morning. Although we had planned to leave at like 10, I'm glad I couldn't sleep past 6 and we left early because we ended up stopping so many cool places and it was nice to have that extra time buffer. I scheduled our travel days for weekends because none of us like big crowds when we visit parks.
Our first stop was a short way up the road at Sunset Crater Volcano, which was part of Wupatki National Monument. I'll get to Wupatki in a bit. Sunset Crater volcano was SO COOL!
First stop is always the Visitor's center to get a map and learn about what we're going to see. We want to make sure we fully understand what it is we're looking at before we walk into a park. Also... as parents we don't want to have to say "I don't know" to every question we're inevitably asked. There was a topographic map that showed all the volcanoes that were part of the massive fissure that shaped the region. I tried to reproduce it with a google satellite image and some red circles in paint.
We got to walk on the old lava flows! Josh had been to volcanoes in Hawaii, but this was a completely new experience for the rest of us. The drive through the park to the Wupatki pueblo was cinder cone after cinder cone dotting the landscape. It was like another planet.
Tristan took a lot of shots from the car as he continued to hone his photography skills. He's a quick learner and didn't really need any input to improve. He just knew what works. Again, very impressed with his skills! I didn't take many of the drive, but he sure did! He also took a lot of great ones of the Wupatki pueblo.
Wupatki National Monument is an interesting site that showcases an important time in Native American history. When the volcanic fissures opened all across the area, the tribes living here took it as a sign they should combine together and form larger groups for survival. There are mixtures of several culture's building and farming practices (namely Navajo and Hopi).
The pueblos at Wupatki were never meant to be used permanently, and they were only lived in for about 100 years (just like Walnut Canyon). There was a huge meeting area (Kiva) Brennan and I thought the "blowhole" was one of the coolest parts of the settlement. Caused by a huge crack in the earth, these openings were like air conditioning and the cool blast was enough to blow Brennan's hair back. They called it the breath of the wind god (we liked that much better than blowhole).
We still had a long way to travel to get to our next airbnb, so we eventually had to get back on the road. We had thought ahead and had plenty of frozen ice packs, coolers, snacks, and sandwiches to last the trip. We knew it would be pretty barren since most of it was through protected, undeveloped lands. The drive was 6 hours long, but breathtaking! We got to drive past the edge of the Grand Canyon for another quick photo op.
Once we hit Grand Staircase-Escalante we found a neat place to jump out and walk around, climb some rocks, look for lizards, stretch our legs (technically it was the toadstool route, but we didn't walk far at all). The entire Grand Staircase-Escalante area is open to overnight camping and is largely unmarked and wild. It would be fun to hike this space more. It was amazing. None of the places we had gone to from Flagstaff to Brian Head had been planned before we left Maryland, but I'm so happy we found them along the way!
We knew we would be getting in super late at this point, but we didn't regret a single stop. The sun was setting in Brain Head, UT where our condo was as we were driving in. Unfortunately we had to go right back out to get dinner and groceries in Cedar City, which was 40 minutes away because a ski town on the off season doesn't stay open very late. That was really the only hiccup of the trip. We finally got in for good at 10pm.
Our next chapter: Utah Part 1, enjoying our condo in Brian Head
Our first stop was a short way up the road at Sunset Crater Volcano, which was part of Wupatki National Monument. I'll get to Wupatki in a bit. Sunset Crater volcano was SO COOL!
First stop is always the Visitor's center to get a map and learn about what we're going to see. We want to make sure we fully understand what it is we're looking at before we walk into a park. Also... as parents we don't want to have to say "I don't know" to every question we're inevitably asked. There was a topographic map that showed all the volcanoes that were part of the massive fissure that shaped the region. I tried to reproduce it with a google satellite image and some red circles in paint.
We got to walk on the old lava flows! Josh had been to volcanoes in Hawaii, but this was a completely new experience for the rest of us. The drive through the park to the Wupatki pueblo was cinder cone after cinder cone dotting the landscape. It was like another planet.
Wupatki National Monument is an interesting site that showcases an important time in Native American history. When the volcanic fissures opened all across the area, the tribes living here took it as a sign they should combine together and form larger groups for survival. There are mixtures of several culture's building and farming practices (namely Navajo and Hopi).
The pueblos at Wupatki were never meant to be used permanently, and they were only lived in for about 100 years (just like Walnut Canyon). There was a huge meeting area (Kiva) Brennan and I thought the "blowhole" was one of the coolest parts of the settlement. Caused by a huge crack in the earth, these openings were like air conditioning and the cool blast was enough to blow Brennan's hair back. They called it the breath of the wind god (we liked that much better than blowhole).
We still had a long way to travel to get to our next airbnb, so we eventually had to get back on the road. We had thought ahead and had plenty of frozen ice packs, coolers, snacks, and sandwiches to last the trip. We knew it would be pretty barren since most of it was through protected, undeveloped lands. The drive was 6 hours long, but breathtaking! We got to drive past the edge of the Grand Canyon for another quick photo op.
Once we hit Grand Staircase-Escalante we found a neat place to jump out and walk around, climb some rocks, look for lizards, stretch our legs (technically it was the toadstool route, but we didn't walk far at all). The entire Grand Staircase-Escalante area is open to overnight camping and is largely unmarked and wild. It would be fun to hike this space more. It was amazing. None of the places we had gone to from Flagstaff to Brian Head had been planned before we left Maryland, but I'm so happy we found them along the way!
We knew we would be getting in super late at this point, but we didn't regret a single stop. The sun was setting in Brain Head, UT where our condo was as we were driving in. Unfortunately we had to go right back out to get dinner and groceries in Cedar City, which was 40 minutes away because a ski town on the off season doesn't stay open very late. That was really the only hiccup of the trip. We finally got in for good at 10pm.
Our next chapter: Utah Part 1, enjoying our condo in Brian Head
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