Day 53: Rain Really Ruins Ruins

Today was a busy day.  We got up bright and early, and after a breakfast, we headed for the mountains for some hiking.  We drove up to 9200 ft elevation, where we parked in the ski resort parking lot and headed for the trail we took.  Our trail of choice did not go to the top of any of the mountains, rather it followed along the side of the mountain, allowing occasional peaks of the scenery around the mountain.  The trail was mostly downhill, though gradual.  Along the way, the forest was quite interesting, as it kept opening up into groves, often filled with neat looking white Aspen trees.  We walked along at a leisurely, slow and steady pace, unlike the fast pace Greg and I had set, which made for many opportunities to stop and simply enjoy the surroundings.

Grandma found her perfect little tree.

Through the grove.

At one point, we had great difficulty find the trail.  We had climbed a small hill and reached a rocky section with a small overlook.  After admiring the view, we tried to go on, but could not find the trail.  Eventually we thought we had it, but after a few moments we realized that was the way we had come from.  After going back for a second look, we finally found the trail, which actually went down the side of the rocks, and walked along a small cliff that the hill had formed.  We had not yet decided when to turn back for the car, but clouds soon started to roll in, and then started to thunder, so we decided it was best to turn back.  The way back was mostly uphill, meaning the going was slower.  Furthermore, my grandfather had pulled a muscle play golf a few days ago, which had started to hurt as he climbed the hills.  Luckily, we made it back just in time.  As we drove down the mountain, the rain began.

Resting under an overhang.

the trail was full of rocks, big and small.

An Aspen grove.

At lunch, we checked the radar for rain and decided our safest beat was to head to Walnut Canyon.  The 350ft deep canyon reminded me of a miniature Grand Canyon, with gray rocks.  The walls go down in a stepping manner, reaching the canyon floor below, with was filled with trees.  It was hoping to hike along the bottom of the canyon, but there are no trails to the bottom.  Instead, the main trail went about halfway down the canyon to a series of cliff dwellings.  A native American tribe had lived in the canyon about 800 years ago, building homes into the sides of the cliffs.  All around the canyon, we could see these homes.  Parts of the canyon had natural overhangs, so they only had to build walls in front and they would have an enclosed building.  Seeing the dwellings was neat, and gave great views of the canyon, making this a great short stop.

Walnut Canyon

Walnut Canyon and I

It was fairly impessive in size.

Cliff dwellings

Since we found the cliff dwellings cool, and there was still time left in the afternoon, we decided to head back up near Sunset Crater, where there are a series of Native American pueblo ruins.  Along the way to the first of the ruins, it sprinkled a bit, but not too bad.  The first ruins consisted of a fairly large structure in which the people had lived.  It was somewhat collapsed, but probably had two stories, and proved quite interesting to look at.  Unfortunately, after a few moments there, it began to sprinkle, followed shortly by very large raindrops which sent us packing towards our card.  The next set of ruins was only about 2.5 mi away, but the rain had already stopped by the time we arrived.  It was much like the first, but interestingly, it was built entirely on top of a big rock, raising it well above the landscape.  Furthermore, we were allowed to go inside the walls and take a closer look.

Exploring one of the ruins.

Ruins on a rock

The first two sets of ruins were supposed to the best two primary ones, but the last we visited turned out to be the most interesting.  From the parking lot, we could see only two dinky little buildings, but as we walked up to them, we saw that they were built beside a small, twenty foot canyon.  Around the corner, was a bigger building in much better condition than all the previous we had seen.  It too was built on the canyon, with views of the mountains out the back, and it even had water catches at the bottom of the canyon.  We figured that if five or six buildings had survived 800 years, then hundreds must have failed to make it.  Sure enough, as we drove out, looking closely at the countryside, we could see builds almost completely collapsed, and even some piles of rock that must have been buildings at one time.

Cliffside home

Great mountain views as well.