Bill Williams Mtn and Bearizona

When we stay put for a week or more, out comes the hummingbird feeder.

There are wild sunflowers everywhere. If that's what they really are.

We're driving back from Flagstaff and who do we see on the road: Sam and Joey pulling their 5th wheel and buggy. They are stopping by for a week to visit on their way home to San Diego from Bryce.

Their friends Walt and Betsy were in the area and stayed for a night also.

Denny & Kristina, Sam & Joey came over for enchiladas and margaritas

We are at 7000 feet elevation. Bill Williams Mountain is at 9200 feet. We drove the car up the Forestry Road to the top. What a view

We walked to the top of the fire lookout tower

The boys weren't interested so Joey and I went to Bearizona without them. It's a private drive through-thru park with local animals. Most of them are rescue animals, however they do have a breeding program.

When we drove through these big horn sheep looked like boulders on the hillside. Then we looked closer and saw they were in clustered by the rocks

This grey wolf walked right by my window and gave me the eye. 

Arctic wolf

We went into the park and saw the baby bears playing

We also watched the bird show.

Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Parks

In eastern Arizona near the New Mexico border is Petrified National Park and Painted Desert; another combined park experience. We drove through Holbrook with their Route 66 old cars, motels, and gas stations stuck in a time warp en route to our destination.

Although every state has petrified wood, this is the largest concentration of it in the United States

The day we visited was sunny, hot, and very bright. We've been told that the Painted Desert really shines in the rain with the colors enhanced by the moisture

Petroglyphs. This couple obviously looks female and male. I'm wondering what their story is...

The Painted Desert Inn is located on original Route 66 and has been preserved. Weary travelers sat at it's soda fountain, bar, and restaurant. 

The original walls were made from petrified wood.

The lodge has a great view.. It would be so cool to see a storm roll through from this vantage.

We're so close to Grand Canyon that we sometimes drive up for the day just to have a picnic and enjoy the view. This time we went to Desert Tower

Sunset Crater & Wupatki National Monuments

Our one week stay quickly became a month. There is so much to see and do in the area. In the past we only drove through Flagstaff area. Our park is a refuge for those living in the Phoenix and  Lake Havasu City areas. We pulled out the map and decided to visit few more National Parks and National Monuments. 

This is Sunset Crater. It blew about 800 years ago. The first thing I noticed when driving into the area was how tidy it looked under the trees. That's because of the cinder blanketed over the soil. 

The lava is very evident along the hillsides and along the road.

The gnarled trees and bark patterns are so interesting to me

Nature prevails and the plants resurface.

Drive down the road 20 miles and you come to a set of Ruins called Wupatki. I'm amazed that we are allowed to walk through out the structures; staying off the walls

The sandstone is very delicate and crumbles easily

This pueblo had a kiva and a sport court

Like all the ruins we've experienced in the No. Arizona, So Colorado, So Utah; all of these residents were gone from the area by the early 1200's. Most likely a result of drought but it's story remains unknown.