Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is located in the Navajo Nation, and is sacred site to them.  Spider Rock is where, in Navajo lore, Spider Woman lives and weaved the web of the universe.

The ruins in Mummy Cave were built by ancestral Puebloans.

Massacre Cave is the location of a Spanish massacre of Navajo women and children that occurred in 1825.

There are some ruins here too.

There are beautiful sunsets in Navajo country.

 

Petrified Forest

Petrified Forest National Park is located in eastern Arizona and is famous for its petrified wood, most of which is from ~225 million years ago.

The Rainbow Forest Museum near the south entrance has some fun exhibits.

The phytosaur is the most common fossil found in the Petrified Forest.

In life it was over 17 feet and weighed over a ton.

The placerias hesternus was a reptile that was very similar to a mammal.

The petrified wood formed when fallen trees fell into a river channel and were buried beneath silt. Over time, silica enriched groundwater percolated through the wood, replacing the molecules, which made a quartz replica.

The Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs are located in the center of the park. They were created sometime between 500 and 1000 years ago by ancestral Puebloans.

The Painted Desert Inn was a small hotel in the park that is now a museum.

It had six rooms in the 1920s and 30s.

It also had great views of the Painted Desert.

Montezuma Castle

 

Montezuma Castle is located in central Arizona, and was built by the Sinagua people between 1100 and 1425 A.D.

The main dwelling five stories tall. It is not a castle, nor has anything to do with Montezuma.

Building in the cliff enabled the Sinagua people to avoid negative effects from nearby Beaver Creek flooding. At its peak 50 people lived here.

Wupatki

 

Wupatki National Monument, located southeast of the Grand Canyon, contains ruins of the Ancestral Puebloans.

The multi-story pueblo dwelling here consisted of over 100 rooms. It is estimated 2,000 people moved here in the 11th century to farm the rich soil after the eruption of Sunset Crater in 1085. By 1225, the settlement was abandoned. 

A ball court was built during that time to play a game similar to one played in Mayan territories.

Sunset Crater is a cinder cone located south of Wupatki.

Sunset Crater was made a national monument by Herbert Hoover to prevent it from being blown up to create an Avalanche effect in a movie.

Grand Canyon

 

The Grand Canyon is located in northern Arizona, carved by the Colorado River. Mather Point is a famous viewpoint on its south side.

The trail into the canyon has a few too many switchbacks for me.

The  Rim Trail is a short, no elevation gain hike with amazing views.

The El Tovar hotel is a historic hotel located on the south rim.

The Desert View Watchtower is a short drive east from the Rim Trail.

It was built in 1932 and also offers amazing views of the Grand Canyon.

By exposing so many layers of rocks, the Grand Canyon records almost two billion years of geological history.

The Desert View Tower also has some paintings inspired by the nearby Hopi tribe.

Death Valley

 

Death Valley in California is the hottest place on Earth. It is also home to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.

Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America. A rare lake was present in it while we were visiting.

The lake had an emerald hue.

The salty peninsula is pretty odd to walk on.

I don't think its going to make it.

The hills of the Artists Palette are colored by rich volcanic deposits.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest

 

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is located in the White Mountains in eastern California.

The oldest tree in the world, Methuselah, is located here. It is 4,855 years old.

One reason the trees look so unique is because over time, their strong roots become exposed.

Many of the trees remain standing, even after death, because they are so hardy.

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The location of the Methuselah tree is a secret.

The bristlecone pine can be distinguished by the female's dark purple cones with prickles.

Make sure to stop by Schat's Bakery in Bishop after your visit!