Sunset Crater and Wupatki Ruins

I arrived in Flagstaff, AZ on Thursday. Staying with Darjaal’s brother and his girlfriend. Cozy place. Clean, (big guest bed :), and a wood burning stove. They are generous and laid back people. I have felt at home. Two Basset Hounds – Quincy and Ella don’t Smella. We have become pals. Tharon is a mechanic and works on motorcycles. He has about 10 in the garage at the house. Some really cool antique ones. Very strange though, while I was driving out here from Grants, NM, I had this – first time in my life – desire to ride on the back of a motorcycle. I decided when I got to Flagstaff I would meet some guy who would give me a ride. Done deal. I am not sure if my mouth was hanging opened as Tharon described his line of work. Andrea, his lady, works in real estate. And it’s a wonder how she is so mellow. I’m am not sure if I have ever met a real estate agent who still had her wits. Cooked dinner for us all last night after a long day on the land…

Yesterday I went to Sunset Crater and the Wupatki Ruins. They are part of the sacred San Francisco Peak range for Navajo and Pueblo people. The range emerged into its present-day form due to most recent volcanic eruption in Arizona occurring 1,000 years ago. Based upon archeological excavation, it appears that the local people were aware of the oncoming eruption from unusual animal activity, increased heat from the earth, or episodes of prior earthquake activity. By the time the lava poured from the sites, the local people had already relocated. Mount Humphreys, Mount Eldon, Mount Agassi, and Mount……? Are the four main mountains, once mesas, now built up into rocky peaks due to the shifting of the tectonic plates. Mount Humphreys is known as the sacred Navajo mountain of the West, and is the highest peak in Arizona at approximately 12,330 feet. I was hoping to climb to the peak this weekend, but from online sources and first-hand experiences, the Humphreys Peak Trail it is treacherous, rocky, straight up, and so cold and windy at the top that some had to crawl the last two miles. The only time of year conducive to the climb is early autumn. I reluctantly will take another trail on the mountain. Sunset Crater is known by the Hopis as the place from which the ancestors return from. The underworld, the place of the ancestors is described by many cultures to be inside volcanoes or underground. Since the crater exposes cooled molten lava from deep within the earth, it makes sense that it would connect this world and that of the afterlife. The site is also a cleansed place because of the destruction and regeneration that occurred. It is a very grounding place with presence and otherworldliness. The Sunset Crater Mountain itself almost jumps out at you like a pop up children’s book. Unusual cooled molten rock formations are accompanied by trees twisted , burnt, or partially rejuvenated. Many trees looked like Kachinas or nature guardian spirits. One looked like a bird being dressed in ceremonial attire, praying with arms out over the land. The road wraps around Sunset Crater and continues to the Wupatki and other smaller pueblo ruins most likely abandoned during the big cleansing, Amazing. I could almost feel the lives that ones moved within the walls. There was a kiva, and also a “ballcourt,” which was a sport played within a circular arena against neighboring tribes. It was popular amongst the Northern Mexican tribes, and is not found in other Northern tribal cultures, indicating strong interrelationships between these tribes. My favorite part of the ruin was the “Blowhole.” There are rocks built as a square surrounding about a 1ft by 1ft opening, in which cool is blowing out at a high pressure. This natural phenomenon occurs because of an underground cavern created from earthquake activity in the Kaibab Limstone bedrock. The depth, size, and shape of the cavern is unknown. Only a few have been found throughout the area. Depending upon the relationship between air pressure within the cavern and the external environmental air pressure, air is either being sucked into the blowhole or blown out. It was really amazing experiencing such a powerful natural vent. It felt like the cavern was very very deep. I had a Marilyn Monroe moment. Descendents of the people who once lived here, the Hopi call the opening “Yaapontsa,” the Wind Spirit. Absolutely.




It was a particularly inward expedience for me. I have felt quiet. Probably due to some fatigue, 7,000 feet is knocking me out, and spending so much time alone. I like it. Been reading a lot and trying to stay up on my studies. But today I feel lonely and wish I had a friend out here. I will climb the Navajo mountain of the West either tomorrow or Monday. Then head off to Kayenta. May be spending Thanksgiving on the res. There tends to be a lot of racism among the Navajo, so I hope it is not an uncomfortable situation. Then off to the Grand Canyon before my conference in Sedona. More water…I’m fading fast.