PICTURE 1 - Sunset Crater It's name comes from a darkened base, with a reddish hue around the top (and nicely viewed at sunset!). The trees you see around the base and foreground are about 400 years old, but those near the top only 150 years old. This is due to a slow growth in soil near the top.


PICTURE 2 - San Francisco Peaks We've turned our camera around 180 degrees, with the 'Peaks' over 12,000 feet high in the distance. Originally, they were likely much higher (17,000 ft), with the center collapsing on itself (the center area). Skiing is generally available from late November through February (Arizona Snowbowl).


PICTURE 3 - Lava Flow There's a whole science to lava, as it flows out away from the volcano. This area is extremely rough, with many ice caves below the surface. On the north side of the volcanic field, the lava flowed all the way to the Little Colorado river, about 12m away.


PICTURE 4 - Painted Desert This is looking east toward Painted Desert. It's not easy to see in 3D but the cliffs in the background are about 50m away. As you drop off the lava flow here, you descend into the Wupatki Ruins area, just south of the Little Colorado river.


PICTURE 5 - Little Colorado Historic Bridge If you're headed on north to Grand Canyon on US89, Cameron and the Little Colorado are just north of the turn-off to the Grand Canyon. It's worth the short drive extra. This bridge was built in the early 1900s. Before that, you had to ford the river through a lot of quicksand. The newer bridge is on the right ... notice the difference in construction.


PICTURE 6 - Cameron Trading Post This is adjacent to the Little Colorado bridge, and is next to a good restaurant (and popular curio shop). The trading post (taller building in background) has kept much of its history. It's worth a visit to see both the historic interior, plus some high quality native american artwork (for sale too). Recommended.


PICTURE 7 - Elden Pueblo If instead, you head back to Flagstaff, make sure to stop here ... it's just south of the Townsend/Wiamo road (SH394) and about 2m north of the Flagstaff mall, right next to US89. It's one of the few ruins using volcanic rock. Although not visually overwhelming, most days there's archeologists on site from the university ... great to chat with!