Saturday 8.8. (Meteor Crater, Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater, Wupatki)

Even if from the campground by Meteor Crater to the Grand Canyon it is only about 2 hours of driving by car, it takes us the whole day, because there are so many things to see. In the morning, we see the Meteor Crater itself (first crater proven to be caused by meteorite and still the best preserved in the world), we walk along the crater, very impressive overlook. From that point we drive few kilometers to Walnut Canyon, where in the canyon walls are the old Indian dwellings, pueblos. We drive a little on Route 66, make a stop for lunch at Flagstaff and continue to Sunset Crater National Monument, which is a nice volcano. We take a short hike to the top of one of the smaller volcanos and walk through the lava trail. From there, it is only few miles to Wupatki National Monument, where are several Indian pueblos. We walk in between them and return to the main route, head north and reach the Grand Canyon National Park. The sun is low above the horizon, so that it nicely shones on the eastern part of the canyon (due to several fires from the lightning, the western part is not visible). The view is amazing.