Summer Vacation | Day 2

After a long day of travel on day one of our vacation, we opted to stay close to Flagstaff on our second day.  Just a quick drive north brought us to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.

The colors at the volcano’s rim are the dusky red, yellow, and orange of sunset, but the crater is only part of the story. Around 1085 CE the ground here began to shake, and a fiery crack spewed the earth’s insides high into the air. When the eruption finished, it had changed both the landscape and the people who lived here. Today, it teaches how nature and humans are linked to each other.

Can you find Sophia in the photo below?

Below is the view we had on our drive north to our next destination.

Next stop on our day trip, Wupatki National Monument.

Nestled between the Painted Desert and ponderosa highlands of northern Arizona, Wupatki is a landscape of legacies. Ancient pueblos dot red-rock outcroppings across miles of prairie. Where food and water seem impossible to find, people built pueblos, raised families, farmed, traded, and thrived. Today, if you linger and listen, earth and artifacts whisper their stories to us still.

The view on our way back to Flagstaff.

All that hiking made everyone hungry, so we stopped by Proper Meats + Provisions in Flagstaff to pick up steaks for the grill. One filet, one New York strip and one ribeye.  Mike grilled them to perfection.

Up Next: Day Three – Page, Arizona including Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon Dam and a brief stint in Utah.