MAY 4
We drive next to Flagstaff AZ, a short distance from the Grand Canyon. We spent a lot of our time in the charming historic town with lots of shops and restaurants lining the grid of 2 story buildings. This borders the train track that seem to be a key part of the town's existence and growth. I swear there was a train going through every time we passed the track, which was often.
One goal for our visit was to see the Lowell Observatory on adjacent Mars Hill. This is where Pluto was found a century ago. It is in fact the state planet of Arizona ( don't tell them that it has been demoted from planet status). Due to incoming weather, we rescheduled our visit there to the first night in town and we were able to do some star viewing in addition to a star talk in the theater and a tour of the historical exhibits.
Flagstaff did not have a botanical garden, so Michelle went to a bookstore.
Lowell Observatory
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| Lots of domes. This is the 'Jiffy Pop Dome' |
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| Dome containing Lowell's ashes....Really. |
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| Dome housing the original Clark Telescope. |
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| The Clark telescope in its original wood housing |
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| astrograph used to find Planet X (Pluto) |
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| Observatory deck where we returned at night for sky viewing |
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| Despite partly cloudy skies, the young astronomers picked out sights in various parts of the night sky. |
MAY 5
At last, a day just for catching up ( laundry, a bit of RV repair, refilling propane, groceries)
MAY6
We made a detour during our departure from Flagstaff. A couple of people recommended we take a loop road through Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument (showcasing pueblo ruins). This provided a distinctly different experience with a fresh looking, centuries old volcanic cinder cone dominating the first half. The second half of the route took us to a handful of 12th century Pueblo ruins.
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| A brief hail storm salted the ground |
Then on to the Wupatki National Monument
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| Amazing that people are allowed to just wander through these ruins. |
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| What a forbidding landscape to scratch out an existence ! |
