Take one step West...or two.

I woke up to a beautiful day so Caillou and I headed out for a day of adventure!

Our first venture was to take State Route 89A towards Sedona, AZ again. We strolled onto Oak Creek Canyon. This is a popular spot for the locals to hold a farmer's market of sorts. After checking out some local artwork, we set our eyes on nature's palette. I will let the picture speak for itself.

Now that you have had a moment to drink it all on, we will continue on the road.

After a long trek through winding back roads, we happened upon the old town of Jerome.

Who wouldn't want to roam these parts? Not much out here...other than the view. Which was enough for me!

Let's not forget the vacationing cattle. They don't mind it here! And they don't seem to mind visitors either.

Route 66 swooped us into the next spot of Seligman. And what did I find in Seligman?

LUNCH! I had never experienced Roadkill Cafe before. So why not now?

A random stop for a Caillou sprint break found me one of the oldest cacti in the world! (Okay, maybe not the world, but at least on this trip!)

Oatman Highway was very beautiful. I was able to catch a few random shots before finally laying ground within Oatman.

 

Looks like a few of the neighbors already got the party started!

A few more stops on my exiting ride. I drove to Laughlin, NV where my sister and Grandfather and I met up with some family back in 1997 during our wild train ride that year. Wow...ten years later. This was my turn-around spot. I then followed the road into the tip of California, but by that time it was too late and too dark to stop for any souvenir photos.

And so, after many more twists, right and left turns, and a few more pit stops, I arrived back at the apartment in Flagstaff...tired, but happy I was able to enjoy my day exploring.

My 'almost adventure'

I have to admit this is not a good time to be living on a weak budget. There are so many sites to see here, but unfortunately some of them I would love to see...have been sucked into the tourist market and therefore they charge to view them. (Insanity!) So I headed out to find a few spots to view...and didn't get to enter most of them. But, I didn't let that stop me from getting a few pictures of my 'almost adventures'!
This is the...building...outside Meteor Crater.

Standin' on the corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine site to see! It's a girl, my Lord, in a flat-bed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me...

This site was dedicated in September 1999 as a tribute to the 1970 Eagles song (Take It Easy) that made this town 'a town to sing about' on historic Route 66.

Mural covered the entire wall of the building...even the windows aren't real!

This old truck was parked next to the mural.

Next I stopped at a random tourist shop selling various local items...including...petrified wood. (Hmm...I wonder if these are the same people that took the wood from Yellowstone National Park??)

If you don't like any of these selections...there are plenty more to choose from in back!

Have you slept in a Wigwam lately...or ever, for that matter?!

These dinosaurs have traveled far from their tracks!

Hmm...it mentions a possible train crossing, but it mentions nothing about prehistoric potentially dangerous reptiles. Whelp...must be safe!

Next, I traveled Indian Route 12 on my way to...somewhere...

Hey there!

Little did I know...it lead me to Window Rock, AZ. Home of...Window Rock (duh) and the monument to honor the Navajo Code Talkers.

To the right you can see a corner of window rock.

Sorry for the rough photo. As you can tell it was dark out, and my camera is afraid of the dark.

Secret local spot.

A spot known by few tourists is Coal Mine Canyon. Beautiful breathtaking views, very hard to locate!

Dark, smoky Sunset (Crater)

One of my adventures this weekend was visiting Sunset Crater. 

 Imagine a big...BIG pile of soot.

There is a trail looping the base of Sunset Crater but hiking to the summit is not permitted. A trail providing access to the summit and crater was closed in 1973 because of excessive erosion caused by hikers.

At least it provides a nice view of the San Francisco Peaks!

At the base of Sunset Crater was the Bonita lava flow. It was created in the early 1100's. 

What blog would be complete without a few random shots of unique spots of nature??

You would have thought these trees were charred very recently!

The following picture is described as a 'squeeze-up'. The definition is pretty self explanatory when you think about it. A squeeze-up is formed when lava from beneath the surface oozes through a crack in the lava crust.

Squeeze-up

In the valley pictured below lies a series of red cinder-covered vents, marking a fissure along which the most recent volcanic activity occured. Sunset crater began erupting in 1064 a.d. and marks the northwestern end of this fissure.

Cinder Hills overlook

Creeping in on the red rocks

Next, I ventured to Sedona, AZ  (picture a tourist trap surrounded by beautiful red rocky mountains) venturing on the historic route 89A.
I wasn't excited over how my pictures turned out, but I was able to capture some of it's beauty.

Tuzigoot

My next stop was Tuzigoot National Monument. This was one of the ruins my family took me too when I visited in 1999. I didn't enter the site (because it cost too much), but I got a picture from the outside!

Castle in rock

One of my last stops was Montezuma Castle. I had also been here before, but it was amazing none-the-less. This 'castle' was incorrectly named from the mistaken belief that the cliff-dwelling that the Aztec refugees had built for their emperor. We have found that Montezuma never ventured this far north from his Mexican homelands, but the name still stuck.

Well living

My final stop of the day was at Montezuma Well (11 miles northeast of Montezuma Castle).

Montezuma Well is a natural limestone sinkhole (much like the one I found near the Citadel at Wupatki National Monument). The water is highly carbonated and contains high levels of arsenic.

Early dwellers used the outflow from this well as irrigation. Yes...people actually lived here. They actually created their homes into the rock walls surrounding the well.

The Yavapai people believe they emerged into this world through the well, making this a very sacred spot to them.

Anaasází Bikin (Wupatki)

I visited Wupatki National Monument today. I pass by it every day and barely had enough sunlight 

left in the day to enjoy it (I was actually cut short).

Entrance to park.

First stop was Box Canyon. 800 year old ruins of pueblos. 

Early inhabitants used sandstone and limestone added with local soils to construct these walls.

Near Box Canyon was Lomaki.

There was evidence of a 'quick' departure for these people. It is still not understood today why that was. There are many possibilities...disease, drought affecting vegetation and animals. There is also thought of invading hostile tribes that contributed to the desertion of this area in the mid 1200's.

Down the road a ways, I found the Citadel.

Nalakihu (Hopi for 'House outside the village'). Located outside the Citadel.

Climbing to the Citadel.

Called a 'sink', this is a natural occurrence made when rainwater dissolves limestone.

View from Citadel. Could be why it was built on the hilltop.

Wupatki (Navajo for 'Houses of the enemies).

Wukoki (Hopi for 'Big house').

As you can tell from this last photo, daylight was fading. So, I close this for now. Hope you enjoyed the photos!