Sunset Crater
After returning to Flagstaff from our morning trip to the Grand Canyon, we took a quick jaunt up to see Sunset Crater National Monument

7 March 2006

Sunset Crater, an extinct volcano northeast of Flagstaff San Franciscan Peaks, near Flagstaff Snow showers on the San Franciscan Peaks outside of Flagstaff It was a chilly afternoon near Flagstaff Bonito Lava Flow ... it's definitely cool, but I'm not sure how Bonito Lava Flow More from the Bonito Lava Flow ... this lava flow came from one of the (I believe) two or three main eruptions that came with Sunset Crater's formation several hundred years ago Bonito Lava Flow Vegetation and lichen growing on the sharp, hardened lava Lenox Crater Path, aptly named because it goes up to, well, Lenox Crater ... after wandering around Bonito a little more, I decided I wanted to catch a better view from the top of the crater, and I didn't wanna keep Mom & Dad waiting too long, so I ran up the steep, sandy path ... that was a bad idea, considering I really hadn't exercised at all in months, it was about 33 degrees, and at over 7500 feet elevation :-) Basalt sand and basalt rocks Bonito Lava Flow That's actually a pretty tall rocky lava slope, and the sandy basalt Jagged lava rocks Me at Bonito Lava Flow The scene at the top of Lenox Crater Lenox Crater Lenox Crater ... definitely not much vegetation around here Lenox Crater Lenox Crater ... looks like there'd be some decent campsites around here though Heading down Lenox Crater Path was much easier than running/walking up Crater peaks in the distance It was pretty cool watching the precip change from rain to snow on my way up and from snow to rain on my way down ... more proof that air is cooler at higher elevations :-) ... I'd say the elevation range over which there was a rain/snow mix was on the order of about 20 feet Not-so-distant crater peaks Sunset Crater Back down to the bottom of the hill and Bonito Lava Flow Looking back up the path ... I can't believe I ran up that, if only for about 400 meters or so before I had to stop and walk :-) Looking out over the Painted Desert in the distance Silhouette of a tree Silhouette Part 1 of a panoramic of the Painted Desert Painted Desert Painted Desert Painted Desert Painted Desert panoramic If we had more time, we would've taken a drive into the Painted Desert the next day, but we had to get back to Phoenix for lunch, on our way to Tucson Painted Desert Painted Desert

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