2013 November 6

Drove south from Page, Arizona toward China Valley. Along the way we found two additional national monuments.

Wupatki National Monument is the site of the ruins from Indian peoples that lived in the area from prehistoric times up to 1200 a.d. Set in the high desert country in Arizona it is also part of the painted desert. The buildings were interesting in that many of them were erected on the top of stones, or a group of stones. The walls of the structures wrapped around the stones and almost seemed to emerge from them.

This was also a volcanic area. Lots of lava rock and black ash in the soil. The volcano last erupted in 1024 (I may have to verify this date).

Sunset Crater National Monument was just south of Wupatki. In fact, there was a park road connecting them. This was the home of the volcanoes that spewed all the lava and ash. We basically drove through this park without stopping to look at anything. Took pictures from the truck.

The rest of our day was spent driving to Chino Valley, Arizona to spend the next few days with friends, Lloyd and Carol Jones.