What we did in Flagstaff...Part I

I was skeptical about the idea of spending an entire week (Sunday to Sunday) in Flagstaff. After all, it's quite a small town, so how were we to occupy our time? Fortunately, we came up with plenty to do. Sunday: Drive. Monday: Arizona Snow Bowl and golfing. The Snow Bowl is the local ski resort. They keep one of their lifts running through the summer, so you can ride to the top and picnic up there and hike around. It was SLOW, but very pretty. The kids were thrilled to death! Poor Averi was allergic to something up on that mountain. Her eyes and nose ran the entire time we were there. But she does look adorable in her carrier. Paul waiting to ride the lift. Katie with Uncle Adam and Aunt Julie. Paul with Uncle Jake and Aunt Abby. Eating our picnic. I love Jake and Adam "fighting" over the sandwich in the background. Abby and Julie. Paul looking handsome. In the afternoon the boys went golfing, I stayed home with the kids while they napped and then got completely lost trying to find a grocery store, and the other girls got pedicures. Tuesday: Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monument Sunset Crater is the remains of a volcano that erupted almost 1000 years ago. It's left a lot of very cool lava trails and is a fun little hike for kids. Those two hills are the actual crater. The terrain around here is so cool. It's full of black sand and lava flows. There's a kind of flower (a penstemon, if you care) that's adapted to live here, and it's so well adapted that it can't live anywhere else. Cool, in an extremely nerdy sort of way. Averi's monotooth grin. Aww, look at those cute chubby legs! Paul with Grandpa. Averi's learned to smile for the camera. This isn't her usual smile; she reserves it for photos. Katie in a little lava crevice. Paul and Grandma. This was a little crater full of volcanic rock. Only after we passed this did we see a sign asking people not to play in here. You'd think they'd post it before you got here. I don't feel guilty. Posing. Paul is also posing. Look at those muscles! Don't ask me where his shirt went. I have no clue. Julie, Averi, Adam, Abby, Katie. Katie worn out. After Sunset Crater Kerry and Connie took the kids back for naps and the rest of us went on to Wupatki. Wupatki was the largest pueblo in the area about 1000 years ago (similar time to the volcano eruption; in fact, they found offerings of corn around the volcano, which they assume were meant to please the gods). It's very different from a pueblo such as Acoma, which is still inhabited. It reminded me very much of Urquhart Castle in Scotland. Stay tuned for more of our trip!