Around Sedona

Walnut Canyon Dwelling

We started our day just outside of Flagstaff visiting Walnut Canyon National Monument. Here were a series of cliff dwellings which used the natural recesses in the limestone of the canyon as their roofs built between 1125 and 1250 AD. The island trail was quite fascinating because you are on an island of rock rising from the canyon. The contrast between the two sides of the island was amazing, in the shade - a pine tree forest and in the sun - a desert landscape. They also built one-room pit houses near their fields. In addition to the island trail, there was an easy trail along the rim that gives you good views of the cliff dwellings.

Oak Creek Canyon

Then we headed on to Oak Creek Canyon and the Sedona area. The highway dives into the canyon and the rock formations loomed above us. We missed the scenic view at the start of the canyon and there were only a few places to pull off to really see the canyon, particularly since trees block the view in many places. Fortunately, we found a picnic spot and caught some of the views from there. We tried to stop at another scenic spot as we came out of the canyon. The gate guard there suggested that we go up to a view spot near the airport (which is built on a mesa above Sedona). It was a great view of the town of Sedona and the picturesque peaks. Sedona itself was a smaller version of Sante Fe – lots of places to eat and art galleries. We didn’t stop, since this isn’t our thing.

We continued on to Tuzigoot National Monument – another Indian settlement from about 1200 AD. This was different from our two previous Indian settlement, the 100 room settlement was made from rough stones and towered above the Verde River valley. At least this place, made sense for a farming community, there was a big river and lots of relatively flat ground for cultivation. Here we learned that the Sanagua culture came from Spanish meaning “without water” how appropriate for most of the region we toured. 

Tuzigoot Dwelling