We were fascinated along the drive east by the number of ramshackle roadside stalls set up for selling native wares. Some of the native “settlements” we saw looked chaotic and sad. In this respect I don’t think there’s a lot of difference between our indigenous people and those here.
After about 40 miles (65 km) the rain eased and although it was still very overcast the rain held off and we were able to continue with our plans. Wupatki National Monument was our first stop after leaving the Canyon and was an opportunity to see the remains of the pueblos (homes) of some of the early inhabitants going back about 900 years. These were made of stone slabs and were ingeniously built. Life must have been hard as they sometimes had to trek up to 16 km for water. It’s interesting to hear about the lives of these people and to make the inevitable comparisons with our indigenous people.
The Wupatki was a village setting for about 100 families. Part of a pueblo has been restored and the actual rooms, doorways are able to be seen. The way they incorporated the original rock surface into their buildings was quite ingenious.
Sunset Crater is an extinct volcano which erupted about the same time as the natives were living at nearby Wupatki and seriously impacted on their lives. It was interesting to find out more about the and we were able to walk for a few kilometres around the base. Interestingly, the height of Sunset Crater is higher than Mt Kosciusko! It would look stunning in winter with the comparison between the white of the snow and the black of the ash covered slope.
The GPS, which mum has nicknamed Dora (the explorer), came good again today. On entering Flagstaff the intersection we needed to turn at was blocked by a massive accident. While we kept going Dora did a recalculation and came up with another route. I think mum and I would probably be divorced by now if she was responsible for navigating us around. I think the GPS is an excellent piece of technology but as with lots of technology can make us mentally lazy. I must add that the Hertz Never-lost GPS is not as sophisticated as some I’ve read about. For instance there are no indicators for fixed cameras, traffic lights, exceeding the speed limit etc.
Could someone please buy me a Chev Impala for Christmas? I love it and it will be the hardest thing to leave behind even if I do occasionally turn on the seat warmer when adjusting the air-con.
