Since the distance between Winslow and Williams was only 77 miles, we took a circuitous route to get another national monument (or two) in.
We started by stopping at Walnut Canyon National Monument. Walnut Canyon is a steep canyon that native Americans had built dwellings into the side of the canyon (from 500 to 1425 AD.)
While Vicki toured the visitor center, Steve hiked the Island Mesa trail. The Island Mesa trail was less than a mile, but it did go down 180 feet (The canyon floor was 350 feet from the top.) The trail looped around the Island Mesa and along the dwellings built into the cliffside.
We then went to Montezuma’s Castle National Monument. This national monument was about 50 miles south of Flagstaff (and 50 miles out of our way). The route also descended from 7000 feet to 4000 feet in 20 miles, with plenty of signs warning trucks to watch their speed and save their brakes. I watched my speed and the Winnebago uses its engine for braking down the hills. I am getting a little more comfortable using the engine for braking. We also saw the flora change from scrub to trees.
Montezuma’s castle is a four story native American dwelling in the Verde Valley, built into the side of a cliff, inhabited from 500 until around 1125 AD in the Verde River Valley.
After Steve and Vicki walked around Montezuma’s Castle, we returned to Flagstaff (driving slowly uphill) and then over to Williams AZ.
We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway and RV Park. The whole campground is asphalt or gravel. Mountains surround the RV Park (and the town), so our eyes were drawn upwards whenever we were in our campsite.
Lexie was not fond of walking on the gravel around the campground. The picture on the left shows Lexie walking on a concrete border to avoid the gravel trail
Williams is another town celebrating the 100th year anniversary of Rt. 66. And this is the last town that we are traveling through that is on Rt. 66.
We had dinner at a local steakhouse, part of DJ’s Wild West compound. The food was ok, the prices were reasonable, and the atmosphere was all wild west.
V: Williams is a charming little town, population around 3,600 but spread out over 44 sq miles. It’s mainly known for being the closest city to the majestic Grand Canyon. The main street has the motor hotels from the 50’s and 60’s, lots of saloons, restaurants and fun, kitchy tourist attractions.
Williams is located in the high (4000 feet above sea level) desert. The air is dry, my temperature/humidity monitor was not reading any relative humidity (less than 10%). While the daytime temperatures were a comfortable mid 60’s, the night time temperatures dropped below freezing. The interior of the RV did get very chilly, but warmed up quickly with the sunshine.
Leave a Reply