4/27/18 Flagstaff, AZ - last day with Matt-Sammy and Lucy. We headed out to see the nearby Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater. Wupatki is an area that contains Pueblo ruins dating back to the 900's. What is different about these ruins is they are on the plains. The area is miles square so you can get a feel for what was like for these people to live here. Adjacent to this area is Sunset Crater which is a volcano that erupted 1054 with lava flows primarily from the base of the mountain, not the cone. The volcano spewed cinders and lava. Interestingly enough the cinders helped the surrounding area retain water which the Puebloans benefited from with their farming. Ultimately a prolonged drought caused all of the Puebloans to leave the area, never to return.

                                                       Lava flow from Sunset Crater

                       Dead tree picture taken for Sue Lake. These trees are hundreds of years old.

 Cinder mountain. Not sure how deep the cinders are but Ponderosa Pines have found a way to take root

                                                   Spatter Cone at the base of the volcano.

                                                         Walnut Canyon hike. 284 steps!

                                             Back at the campground just fooling around