Review of Wupatki National Monument: An unexpected place full of indigenous peoples’ culture and history

 

Wupatki National Monument, Flagstaff, Arizona 

As a kid growing up, I was always fascinated by history.  I loved stories of how humans interacted with their own unique geographies, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing, but in many ways they’re entertaining and fascinating stories of survival and human ingenuity.

As my wife and myself were visiting Sunset Crater National Monument’s visitor center, we got more than just natural history of the lands.  We fully expected the place would feature the remnants of the impressive volcanic eruption that happened about a thousand years ago, but what we didn’t expect was the human story behind that eruption.

While speaking to a friendly park ranger, we learned about the native inhabitants (Pueblos), who had settled around what is now the Sunset Crater, who were forced to move by the eruption.  Their farmlands were devastated by this cataclysmic event, and in search of a suitable habitat, they settled north, to what is now Wupatki National Monument.

Wupatki National Monument, located in the Painted Desert and ponderosa highlands of northern Arizona, was the unlikely landscape for a thriving community.  The ancestors of contemporary Pueblos, created a bustling center of trade and culture about 1,100 years ago, in response to the volcanic eruption that forced them to move in search of a better land.

Against this backdrop of fascinating history, we drove north along AZ-89 for about 20 minutes, when we saw the sign for Wupatki National Monument on our right.  We turned in, settling into a nice rhythm of making wide left and right turns along the long road to the visitor center.  The drive to the visitor center took almost as long as the drive on AZ-89, but it was very soul-cleansing thanks to the expansive, panoramic views along the drive.

We again, marveled at the beautiful desert landscape that is northern Arizona.  Northern Arizona was indeed Grand Canyon country, so everything felt very familiar, beautiful and grand.  

Drive to the visitor center, Wupatki National Monument 

We were almost in a trance like state, just going with the curvature of the road, when we finally arrived at the visitor center parking lot.  We were one of two vehicles parked that day, thanks to the blistering, howling winds still packing a powerful punch in January.

We got out, noticing the much colder temperatures at Wupatki National Monument vs Sunset Crater.  We had forgotten it was still winter in the United States.  We grabbed our thick winter coats, then headed to the visitor center.  

Visitor center, Wupatki National Monument, AZ

The visitor center was on the smallish side, but it had everything we needed, including a restroom on the outside.  After greeting the park rangers, then showing our America the Beautiful Park Pass (free admission again!), we moved towards the back of the visitor center, and got outside, to see the village.

Wupatki Trail is a short, half mile long trail that takes you to various points of interest along the village.  After quickly scanning the placards at the beginning of the trail, we started our walk.

The area didn’t seem like an ideal location for a thriving community, especially these days, when everything seems so enveloped by the desert.  Yet, thousand years ago, the cooler weathers and wetter seasons helped Pueblos settle here and thrive.

We looked out from the scenic overlook and liked what we saw.  It was the colorful desert landscape we’ve come to love during our cross country trip, and the occasional snow covered areas really made things interesting.  

We used the dark brown colored gravel/dirt trail to get a closer look at the village below.  The first structure was the Wupatki Pueblo, a 900 year old structure with over 100 rooms.  This structure is the largest free standing pueblo in Northern Arizona.

We got as close as we could to the structure without damaging any of the sacred sites.  We could see there were different types of uses for each room.  Some were used for storage, for cooking, for laundry, and/or for sleeping.  We could just about imagine building of this structure by hand, each member of the community chipping in to lay each stone, one layer at a time.

We moved along, following the trail deeper into the village.  We could see why the locals selected this particular patch of land.  It was sitting on a hill with great views of the valleys and mountains in the distance.  It’s what I would’ve done if I was looking for a land to settle.  Might as well get something with a view!

We came upon a community gathering area/ball court, which was unmistakable in its purpose.  We imagined a game of ancient soccer being played by the locals on weekends.

Ball court!

We continued on, stopped at the far end of the trail for the blow hole, a geologic feature where air flows in and out from the ground.  We got close to feel the air coming up, and it reminded us of our time living in the island of Oahu in Hawaii.  A popular blow hole on the eastern side of the island, called Halona Blowhole, blows air 30 feet into the air, and it has been known to kill idiot humans who try to get a way-too-close of a look at that blowhole.

We approached this blowhole at the village with caution, but we knew we were ok when we put our hand on top of the blowhole.  The air was strong enough for us to feel but not enough to kill us or maim us.  That’s a relief!

Blow hole!

It was fascinating to see a blowhole in the middle of a desert, but that’s the beauty of nature!  We sure got a kick out of it!

On our way back to town, we stopped by at a famous pizza place called Grimaldi’s in Southside Neighborhood for a much needed lunch.  They started out in Brooklyn (NY) about 100 years ago, serving thin crust, New York style pizza.  We were sold!

We arrived at the pizza joint and found parking along snow covered road that had seen recent snow.  We walked in, liking the decor of the place, and ordered a cheese pie (no toppings, so we can get a true taste of the pizza), salad, bruschetta.

We got complimentary breads which were great to begin with, then the bruschetta came and we were blown away!  The bruschetta featured 3 different toppings and they were all fantastic!

Our main entree followed and we were in pizza heaven!  It was a perfect slice of pizza with very thin crust, with just the right amount of sauce and cheese.  Unlike many places, the sauce wasn’t sweet, which is the way I like it.  And to top it all off, the almost crunchy crust was perfect in its execution, and when combined with sauce and mozzarella cheese, it was just perfect…

It harkened back to our childhood growing up in New York City when we would grab a slice on our way home from school with our friends.  It was absolutely one of the top 3 pizzas we’ve had in our lifetime.  We highly recommend it!

Grimaldi’s, Flagstaff, AZ

In conclusion:

For any lovers of history, Wupatki National Monument is a must.  It proudly showcases the remnants of a thriving Pueblo community dating back to about a thousand years ago.  For the Hopis, this is a sacred place and those ancient settlers are believed to be spiritual guardians.

We highly recommend everyone to take a short detour from their trip to Grand Canyon to visit this place.  There’s so much to learn about the Pueblos’ culture and their lives, even if it’s just a little glimpse.

Thank you for reading and happy trails!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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