May 7,8 and 9-1, 2014 Happy Anniversary and Walnut Canyon

May 7th

Happy Anniversary to my hubby – .  Twenty six years today –  

Today was our day for shopping and getting a few things done around the motorhome.  It was a much calmer day (less wind) but colder – Brrr…

May 8th

It remained cold and this morning – May 8th – we woke to this:

Yes, that is snow on the ground.  But by 9 AM it was all gone…

Our adventures today took us to Walnut Canyon National Monument.  Our GPS took us via the Old Walnut Canyon Road which was a dirt road – very pretty.

Walnut Canyon was the home to the Sinaqua peoples.  They arrived right after the eruption of Sunset Crater, built their homes in the canyon cliffs and farmed on the rim top.  The National Monument was created to preserve the ruins and tell the stories of all the peoples that lived here.

We first went to the Visitor Center which was filled with two bus loads of 6 to 8 year olds – Oh my!.  So we decided to do the Rim Trail:

The trail gave us incredible views of the canyon.  This mountain in the center is almost like an island. When Walnut Creek flowed, it went entirely around this “island”.  The cliff dwellings were all along the creek on both sides and a number of levels.

The trail led us to the pithouse and pueblo ruins:

More information on the peoples of the Canyon:

We made our way to the Island Trail which took us to that “Island”.  It was 240 steps down – here we go:

And we saw the dwellings more clearly:

The trail hugged the hillside – this was one of the same trails that the natives used:

One of the dwellings use to be under this overhang:

Dwellings:

Very Interesting:

What a great way to get rid of the smoke – notice the whole above the door:

Great information on how the rooms were used:

Isn’t it amazing how they built these homes on the various levels – can you see them:

Another great day.

May 9 AM, 2014

I am currently sitting at Starbucks and getting my internet fix – HAHA.  All the blogs have been updated and emails answered.  My apologies to those who get my blog thru email.  There may be four blogs in one.  Still can’t figure out how to do one email per blog.

We will be leaving this area in another day or two, heading to Cameron, AZ then Bluff, UT.  I am not sure how good the internet will be so I may only be updating periodically.

Thanks for coming along with us.

Stay tuned and enjoy today!