Red Rock County, Sunset Crater & Wupatki
Trip Start
Mar 01, 2009
1
14
59
Trip End
Ongoing
Flagstaff, Arizona
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A drastic temperature change from southern and central Arizona to northern Arizona, means no more flip flops and tank tops- boo hoo! We climbed in altitude through Sedona to Flagstaff, where we wimped out and stayed in a hotel. However, hibernating from the cold, wind and all responsibility for 24 hours was wonderful. We surveyed Red Rock State Park and Sedona, fairly quickly, as we had hoped to find a first come first served campsite along 89A before all filled-up, but that didn't pan out.
The landscape of Red Rock State Park is nature at its most elegant and austere. Sedona, while a great place to spend money and find creature comforts, felt a little too tourist-chic for us, so after a drive through its cute downtown and quick walk around the galleries, shops and restaurants at Tlaquepaque (a high-end sort of artisan village), we sped on. After two nights in Flagstaff (a very cool town with lots of activity, but still retaining a quiet, small town feel), we decided to take the plunge and continue on toward Grand Canyon via 89A, taking a loop road that passed through Sunset Crater National Monument (site of an 800 year old volcanic eruption and lava flows), and Wupatki National Monument (Pueblo ruins dating to 1100 A.D.).
