Escapees May-June 2024

Tonto National Monument

A nearby volcano had erupted a few decades prior to the pueblo’s construction. That volcano is located in Sunset Crater National Monument, only a few miles away, and is also well worth a visit. The ash that blanketed the land after the volcanic erup tion not only made the soil very fertile but also made it capable of holding moisture, a vital factor for people living in these “moun tains without water.” This moisture retention allowed the Sinagua people to farm the land, and by the late 1100s, the pueblo housed as many as 100 people in about 100 rooms. It is a stone and mortar structure with juniper roofs and was erected on top of a rock outcropping. Both Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments are located on a scenic 35-mile drive that detours from Arizona Highway 89 onto paved Forest Road 545. At Sunset Crater, we were awestruck by the craggy lava fl ow that’s still frozen in time. Today, nearly a millennium after the lava fl ow cooled down, the distinct “ fl ow” consists of extremely sharp and jagged black rocks. Further on, at Wupatki Pueblo, we strolled the half-mile interpretive trail that wanders

“Further down the scenic drive, there are four smaller neighboring pueblos: Wukoki, Nalakihu, Citadel and Lomaki. These are much less visited sites, and our imaginations took fl ight aswe roamed around the crumbling walls.”

ARIZONA Wupatki National Monument North of modern-day Flagstaff, the Ancestral Puebloans built an enormous building that the Hopi now call “Wupatki” or “Tall House.” Archaeologists labeled these pueblo builders the Sinagua People because of the nearby San Francisco Mountains, which the Spanish had named the Sierra Sin Agua (“Mountains Without Water”). Like the pueblos at Bandelier and Aztec National Monuments, this building was constructed around 1100 AD.

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ESCAPEES Magazine May/June 2024