The cows revisit the Southwestern U.S., part 3

October 2012

Lunch and Snack continue their Arizona adventure with a stop at Wupatki National Monument south of the Grand Canyon. It was the first of three monuments that day!

This is the Wupatki Pueblo, part of an intricate set of ruins occupied by Puebloan peoples during the 1100s CE.

The cows admired the view of the Arizona desert from the top of the Citadel Pueblo, a small village built on top of a hill in Wupatki.

The next stop on the monuments tour was Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, a cinder cone volcano that erupted sometime between 1040 and 1100 CE. The monument is just a short distance south of Wupatki.

"This must have been awful to deal with when it was hot and fresh."

The cows examine part of a lava flow at the base of the volcano. The eruption of Sunset was thought to have severely disrupted the lives of the Puebloan peoples living in the area.

Completing the monument trifecta, the cows visited Walnut Canyon National Monument just east of Flagstaff. Here, archaic peoples lived in cliff dwellings around the canyon walls for perhaps thousands of years.

But the only modern access is more than two hundred steps down into the canyon from the visitor center.

"Gosh Snack, hard to believe people actually lived here along the canyon walls."

The cows examine a set of ruins perched high over the valley floor.

Walnut Canyon's "Island Trail" weaves around a promentory in the canyon with what were once cliff dwellings circling the outcropping.

With the monuments behind them, the cows stop back in Seligman for a meal at the infamous Roadkill Cafe on old Route 66.

"Are you sure we want to eat here, Snack?"

"The menu lists dishes 'named' for things they found along the highway, but I don't think they actually let them cook them."

"Let's hope so, Snack."

After a full day's drive, the cows made it to Joshua Tree National Park in southern California. They managed to set up camp in the appropriately named Jumbo Rocks Campground just before night fell.

This was the cow's second trip to Joshua Tree, the first visit years ago was only to the south unit of the park ~~ storms had washed out the road to the northern portion! On this trip, they got to see what they had missed.

"Gosh Lunch, this was worth coming back for. This looks like something right out of 'The Flintstones'."

"You're right, it does kind of remind you of Bedrock."

The cows visited the Cholla Cactus Garden in the middle of the park near the transition zone between the Mojave and Colorado deserts.

"Hmmm... You know Snack, this looks almost alien."

Lunch and Snack spent the rest of their afternoon in the park visiting Hidden Valley, a mecca for area rock climbers and rumored to have once been a hideout for cattle rustlers.

"Rustlers!!! Lunch! Are we safe here???"

"I think that was a long time ago."

After an adventure with three national parks, three national monuments and a national reserve, Lunch and Snack spent a leisurely final afternoon in the Mount Charleston National Recreation Area west of Las Vegas. The view of Mount Charleston with a dusting of snow was a nice finale to a few weeks in the desert.