Top of the world, indeed. We finally made it to the top of the Escalante Staircase. I must apologize for the LOOONG delay between posts, we have been doing some stuff – most of which is going to be great material for some posts to be cranked out!

Before getting to the top, we had some stops to make along the way. Our last stop was the amazing Grand Canyon, which we wrote about here. Then we decided that we had not experienced quite enough volcanic soil. A short hop north east of the Grand Canyon is Sunset Crater National Monument.

Pit stop; Sunset Crater/Wupatki National Monument

Sunset Crater National Monument

While some of the area was similar to our time at the BLM Valley of Fires in NM, there was a lot of different types of geology to explore. Sunset Crater was actually a volcano, and obliterated much of northern Arizona approximately 1,000 years with a massive eruption.

This volcano has a huge cinder field associated with it. A path runs from the visitor center through most of the park. Unfortunately, we were only able to walk a portion of the path because no pets are allowed on the trails in the actual National Park. Of note, like most the Western US, this had suffered a large forest fire within the last few years. I took the opportunity to get “artsy” with split burnt tree.

Wupatki National Monument

From Sunset Crater, we looped through Wupatki National Monument. I was pretty excited about this one, as it is supposed to have some really great ancient Native American ruins. Unfortunately, they are largely reconstructed and reimagined.

We did enjoy learning about the Wupatki people in the museum and gift center. The ancient indigenous people set up a bustling trade hub in Northern Arizona. I am starting to actually see, with my own eyes, that perhaps what we were taught in school was not entirely accurate. From the things discovered in Aztec Ruins National Park (which we showed you guys here!) and the ancient art at Three Rivers Petroglyph Site (take a look here!) depicting ocean fish and animals from South America – it was clear that the ancient world traded and traveled not only beyond their area into our continent, but made it much further.

We did get to see some really cool lizards and a blow hole. Blow Holes are created by the collision of two tectonic plates that had a lot of sandstone and limestone. It is, in effect, a really narrow and extremely long cave system. What is truly amazing is that it shows the power of geothermal energy. If it is cool outside (making the air dense), it sucks air into it, and when warm/hot outside (making the air less dense) it blows out with enough force to lift a hat off the opening!

Grand attraction, top of the world!

The Escalante Staircase ends up around the area of Bryce Canyon National Park. It is spectacular. Filled with the largest concentration of “hoodoos” in the world as well as thousand of wind and rain carved rock. There are several trails throughout the park, but beware; it is as popular, if not more so, than the Grand Canyon.

I could post enough pictures to fill a photo album (if that term is new to you, tell people you “discovered” it and maybe start a new trend). It is truly an amazing location, right here in the United States. Absolutely stunning.

There is a great museum that helps understand the Escalante Staircase and how the layers of earth are exposed. Each layer is a geological marvel and a look backwards in time!

Stay with us, our travels are not over! We are heading much higher, literally! Keep up with us by subscribing on our front page here, check out our archives here and join the adventure!