Three villages make up Acoma Pueblo: Sky City (Old Acoma), Acomita, and McCartys. The Acoma have continuously occupied the area for more than 800 years, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States. Acoma tribal traditions estimate that they have lived in the village for...
The temperature in this cave never gets above 31 degrees. As rain and snow-melt seep into the cave the ice floor thickens… more and more each year. They estimate it to be over 20 feet thick, with the deepest ice being more than 3400 years old. The green tint is...
800 feet deep, Bandera Volcano rose up in volcanic fury some 10,000 years ago. It is one of the finest examples of an erupted volcano in the country, and also one of the most accessible. A fairly easy 3/4 mile hike climbs around and into the blown out portion of...
The term El Malpais (“the Badlands”) is used locally to refer to lava flows. I did not know this when I came to this Ntnl Monument. From the satellite view it is clear; a huge black smudge blankets the area south of Grants, NM. It’s volcanic features include a string...
So, I’ve spent the past few days relaxing in luxury. Although I went nearly the entire month of January without paying for a night of camping, there were these billboards along the Interstate advertising $17 per night at this RV park, so I decided to stop in for a night...
Today I finally got to visit a National Park that I have skipped over many times in the past 3 years. While I have been in Arizona numerous times, I just hadn’t traveled along I-40 east of Flagstaff, so this time around I made sure of it. I entered to...
Meteor Crater is the result of a collision between a piece of an asteroid traveling at 26,000 miles per hour and planet Earth approximately 50,000 years ago. A force greater than 20 million tons of TNT throwing more than 175 million tons of earth and rock out. Today, Meteor Crater...
Walnut Canyon National Monument is located about 10 miles southeast of downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, near Interstate 40. The canyon rim elevation is 6,690 ft; the canyon’s floor is 350 ft lower. A 0.9 mi long loop trail descends 185 ft into the canyon passing 25 cliff dwelling rooms constructed by the Sinagua, a pre-Columbian cultural...
Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. In 2011, the Observatory was named one of “The World’s 100 Most Important Places” by TIME....
Red Rock State Park is a state park in Arizona featuring a red sandstone canyon outside the city of Sedona. The main mission of this day-use park is the preservation of the riparian habitat along Oak Creek, but there are 5 miles of hiking trails to explore. On a personal...
