Leslie and David's Wanderings: 1 October 2021 Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano NMs

We decided to go for a twofer today. Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments are both located on the northeast side of Flagstaff and are connected by a scenic drive. They are pretty small NMs. We entered the north end of Wupatki NM and worked our way through the NM toward the visitor center on the south side. We stopped at each of the pueblo ruins along the way (Box Canyon, Lomaki, Nalakihu, Citadel, and Wupatki). There were short trails (0.2 to 0.8 miles) to each of the pueblos from the parking areas. There are over 800 pueblo sites within the NM, most are ruins down to the ground. The Citadel Pueblo is built on top of a high circular cinder hill and had over two dozen rooms. All the ruins date back to 1100 AD and were occupied shortly after Sunset Crater Volcano had completed its eruption. Wupatki Pueblo, located behind the visitor center, contained over 100 rooms, a ball field and several ceremonial sites. The buildings incorporate the rock outcrops that were on the hill. After visiting the pueblos, we went into the visitor center and collected our passport stamp. The exhibits in the visitor center were still closed due to Covid.

We then followed the scenic drive over higher altitude portions of the Painted Desert. We enter Sunset Crater Volcano NM from the north. They no longer allow people to hike to the top of the volcano so we did a short hike on the Lava trail. Having been to many volcano parks in the last three years, we were not very impressed with the lava field. Sunset Crater Volcano last erupted around 1000AD and was a significant influence on the population of the area. The crater gets its name from the yellow sulfuric material that rings the edge of the crater. After our hike, we went to the visitor center and collected our passport stamp. The exhibits in the visitor center were still closed due to Covid.

After we finished up in Sunset Crater NM, we headed for Flagstaff to refuel both the truck and ourselves. Fuel in Flagstaff was $1 cheaper than in Williams. After filling up, we went in search of a Brewery. The first one we tried was not open to the public despite what the internet said. The second one, Lumberyard Brewery was in the historic section of town. After driving around for a bit to find a parking spot, we waked into the brewery and sat at the bar (30 minute wait for a dining room table). The food and beer were pretty good and seeing a portion of old town has us wanting to visit again.