08/03/2005
We decided to head north to get out of the heat so we headed to Flagstaff.rn
Walnut Canyon was home to what is called the Sinagua culture that lived in this area from 600 A.D. to 1400.
These dwellings were abandoned around 1300.
The canyon is so beautiful and it's a nice, easy walk around the dwellings.
There are a few steps you must descend to get to the dwellings. About 240 or so.
A shot of the path from above
Before this was named as a park and protected people dynamited the ruins to get to the relics and shards
Just another shot along the path
The artsy picture. Note the swirled pattern in the rock
Looking back up to the visitor center from the bottom of the path
Looking out from the trail into the canyon
Since we were in the area we decided to drive into Flagstaff and see the Lowell Observatory.
For those who do not know, Percival Lowell was an amateur astronomer who established this observatory for study.
Discoveries about Mars, and the identification of our ninth planet Pluto, the fact our universe is expanding, and the rings of Uranus are all part of it's history.
And it is such a lovely campus - trees, flowers, and the smell of pine all make it a great stop.
This building houses the Clark Telescope, a 24 inch refracting telescope
Percival Lowell's mausoleum
Back of the mausoleum in which Percival Lowell is buried
The Rotunda Building.
