Verde Valley to Towaoc

Our plan for today was to leave Verde Valley and head north. It was a lovely morning and we managed to pull out of the park about 11 am. The diesel tank was begging for fuel so a quick stop in Cottonwood where we found diesel for .20 a gallon less than anywhere else. Alllllrighty!

I had mapped out a short day of about 115 miles allowing time for us to take the coach through the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument ending at Cameron, AZ for the night. Piece of cake!

As we started north on Highway 17 towards Flagstaff the elevation rose to 7000 feet. And the coach started to overheat as the temp neared 100 degrees. Doug found a pullout and we let the engine rest for a few minutes then continued up the hills. Everything leveled out around Flagstaff and there were no more problems with overheating.

We caught I-40 east, then Hwy 89 north and about 12 miles north of Flagstaff we saw the sign for Sunset Crater Volcano. The road is a 35 mile loop road that takes up right back to Hwy 89 just 20 miles shy of Cameron.

It's a beautiful drive through the pines and then you come upon a pullout with an outstanding view of the crater.


This multicolored mountain crater was formed about 1000 years ago when molten rock spewed from the ground high into the air and solidified as it returned. The 1000 foot cone was built up over the next 200 years as debris accumulated around the original vent.


We continued deeper into the park to the visitor center where we were bombarded with information. There were videos, hands on displays, photos and geological demonstrations as well as the usual gift shop items.

Driving on, we stopped at the Lava Flow Trail to take the 1/4 mile path through the lava fields.

There were two major eruptions following the original event and lava stone covers the area. This bridge traverses one of the many deep gullies and fissures along the path.

Much of the area is stark barren rock with vegetation just starting to take hold in places.

Another view of the crater from the view point.

The day began to slip away from us as we hurried through the rest of the park and glimpsed a bit of the painted desert in the distance.

We arrived at the Wupatki National Monument and decided to bypass the visitor center at this time. Doug was anxious to get settled at our site in Cameron before it got too late. We saw several ancient ruins in the distance and will have to return for more exploration.

Arriving at Cameron was quite a shock. It isn't a town, just an Indian trading post with gravel, rv parking area across the road. We paid for one night and crossed the highway to the park. The first site we tried wasn't too bad but there was no water and the electricity was so poor we were afraid of damaging equipment. So, we moved to another site and it had water, but the power was even worse. And the temperature had risen to 112 degrees!

Doug had had enough! We got our money refunded and continued north on the highway. I tried to explain to Doug that there was very little in the way of towns and parks between Cameron and our next stop 212 miles away. He was determined to find somewhere else.

It was 5:30 when we left Cameron and still plenty of light for driving. The scenery was spectacular near the turnoff for Monument Valley. And as the sun began to set, the light on these mountains was breathtaking.

Tiny town after town yielded nothing in the way of parking spots. Then it got dark. We kept driving north through the Four Corners area where Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado meet. But we couldn't see anything and the road deteriorated.

Finally, we saw a sign for the Ute Mountain Casino. I've discovered that many casinos allow rv parking or contain a park. Quickly, I researched it on the internet (thank heavens for our Verizon aircard!!) and they do have a rv park.

At 9:30 (that's pm) we pulled behind the casino into a nice park. We found a semi-level site in the dark and set up temporarily for the night. A quick bite to eat and we collapsed exhausted. Hmmmm......it was supposed to be such a simple day........