Exploring Walnut Canyon

     Yesterday we pulled into this campsite near Flagstaff, AZ. There is dozens of lovely camping sites in this National Forest area all free for the taking. Due to recent storms, it is extremely muddy. We did use our 4 wheel drive and I did close my eyes at one point when it looked as though our camper was going to slam into a gate. But Eldon managed to slide us into a great spot with no damage to to truck or camper! Today the sun is shining and the puddles are rapidly drying up! The only downside to this place is the large amounts of trash and glass laying around. 

     We had time to spend a few days in the area so I began searching for free things to do. To our surprise, Walnut Canyon is one of the coolest National Monuments we've been to yet and it was only a few miles from our boondocking site! And since Makayla qualifies for the every kid in a park pass, it was free for us. Before I even start on the pictures, I'll just say this we loved this place way more then Mesa Verde.

     Walnut Canyon is the site of  hundreds of cliff dwellings built between 1125 and 1250. The canyon rims, relatively flat with pockets of deep soil, were the main farmlands. Most homes were situated on cliffsides facing south and east to take advantage of sunlight. The canyon cliffs provided natural shelter from weather as well as enemy tribes.

     We hiked the 1 mile loop around Island Trail which took us past 25 dwellings. It included 240 steps and a descent (and ascent) of nearly 200 feet. After a long rest, during which the children completed their JR Ranger books, we hiked the .7 mile Rim Trail that overlooked the canyon.

Several varieties of pine trees here perfume the air deliciously!

So many dwellings! In the 1800's many "professional thieves" used dynamite to get into the dwellings in hopes of finding treasure. 

The children loved walking into some of them!

Looking down the canyon.

How would you like this for a front door view?!

We enjoyed all the signage about plants and trees along the trail.

Many are falling apart.

Here you can see the smoke left from fires.

Loved all the gnarly trees.

So practical and efficient!

The trail was paved the whole way.

A Yucca plant.

I wish pictures would capture the real beauty and smell!

Cute little rock sign.

A garden along the rim. Although, I'm positive the natives didn't have chicken wire around their corn 😂.

The canyon used to flood several times a year a provide water for the tribes to store but now dams divert water from running through here.

Even though it's October, we still found flowers!

     This place will definitely go high on our list of favorite places! Even though the Island Trail was steep, it was very doable if you go slow.

     Our primary reason for wanting to spend a few days near Flagstaff was to pick up 1 more solar panel. We have 2 and it's great if we watch our electric usage closely and the sun shines most of the day. But cloudy days are hard. Eldon was thrilled to pick up a panel that was a display model 25% off! He came home and installed it immediately yesterday. So far it's working great!