Southwest Adventures: On the Road to Page, AZ

On the road again!

We said goodbye (for now) to our friends Jim and Kathy and picked up a rental car near the Phoenix airport to take our adventure on the road. Anne signed us up for Emerald Awards thru National Car Rental, and the experience was pretty surprising. No paperwork, free water, and we got to pick our own car from a selection of about 50 cars! How cool is that? Frank chose a Toyota Camry (even though we paid for a smaller size). We have always loved Toyotas for their reliability and this one had an AZ plate which may make us less of an out-of-town target to Highway Patrol and for petty theft when we sightsee along the way with all our gear in the car.

Driving in this part of the country is such a pleasure. The roads are wide and beautifully maintained, and designed for cruising at 75 mph or faster. The wide, open, empty spaces, vast sky, and distant mountain ranges could not be more inviting, and our itinerary offered plenty of interesting sightseeing.

Montezuma Castle hugging the side of the cliff,
100 feet above

Montezuma Castle

Our first stop was Montezuma Castle, which despite the name, was never home to Montezuma and is not really a castle either. The impressive structure was built by the Sinagua people about 1100 A.D.

Close up of Montezuma Castle

The Sinaguans managed to build their home 100 ft. up in a large alcove, using a series of ladders to access their cliffside home. About 50 people lived here with one room for each family and other rooms designated for storage, workspace, and ceremonies.

The Sinagua people lived here for about 400 years and then suddenly disappeared. No one knows why they moved on, but these people were nomadic and had a belief that staying in one place too long would result in dissension and internal strife.

Oak Creek Canyon

Oak Creek Canyon

We drove through scenic Oak Creek Canyon, intrigued by the dramatic changes in the landscape as we made our way north. The drive begins north of Sedona with fabulous red rock formations lining the Route 89A drive.

Northern part of Oak Creek Canyon where red rock desert
gives way to white rock and evergreens

As we drove down into the Canyon, the landscape began to change becoming greener and greener. In less than an hour, the scenery changed from desert red rock to white rock and refreshing evergreen forest. This is a land of constant variety!

Hiking through the lava fields

Sunset Crater

Speaking of variety, a short drive off the main highway led us to massive, tumbled piles of lava at the foot of Sunset Crater. The crater looms above, looking like a pure black sand mountain.

Lava flows with volcano in the background

The volcano erupted about 900 years ago scorching the area with steaming lava flows. The park covers 3,000 acres of lava fields, and in some areas, the lava looks like it just cooled last week rather than hundreds of years ago.

Stunning Painted Desert scene

Painted Desert

Further on, we had wonderful views of the Painted Desert shimmering in the distance. Even though we never got a close-up look, the light pastel colors of the desert were fabulous.

Frnak hikes out to see the Wupatki Ruins

Wupatki Ruins

Our last stop was at Wupatki Ruins, a red rock pueblo built 800 years ago by the Anasazi and Sinagua people. The site was built using thin, flat blocks of local sandstone giving it a more modern red brick appearance.

Impressive 3-story ruins at Wupatki

The visual shock of seeing this well-defined ancient structure out in the middle of nowhere invites the imagination to wander to an age gone by and made a memorable first impression for both of us.

The ruin was a three-story structure (in places) earning the name Wupatki which means “big house.” Three hundred people lived in over 100 rooms.

A closer look at the Wupatki Ruins

The volcanic eruption of Sunset Crater destroyed the formerly fertile land there, forcing people to move into this barren area of Wupatki. Hard to believe anyone could live in this desolate, dry, unforgiving desert.