Walnut Canyon National Monument Near Flagstaff, AZ
Walnut Canyon is a National Monument near Flagstaff, AZ. It is the site of ancient cliff dwellings where inhabitants lived long ago.
Walnut canyon is a short 10 minute drive from my home. For several years I would walk the canyon for my exercise. Some people use it to train for the BIGGER canyon, the Grand Canyon, which is about a ninety minute drive away.
I got out of the habit of walking when the trail was closed for repairs. Then a huge bolder fell on the trail and closed it for months. The trail starts out at 7000 feet elevation and descends 185 feet into the canyon and is a mile long. There are 240 stair steps along the way.
In past years I have seen deer and elk along the rim trail, which runs above the canyon.
Last week, (Aug. 17, 2009) I decide to start walking the canyon again. The recent reports about needing more Vitamin D motivated me to get more sunlight along with eating my wonderful Shaklee Supplements. (See my Aug. 20, 2009 blog post)
I knew what I was in for since I hadn’t done it for a while. I started on Monday, by Tuesday afternoon I could barely walk. Wednesday morning I was determined to go. It was a little difficult because my legs were still very sore. By Friday, the soreness was gone.
Take a “walk” with me in the canyon through these pictures I took along the way. Some of the best pictures were too big to insert. The first shows the repair where the big boulder was.
There are lots of lizards along the trail. Can you see one in this picture?
Climbing out….185 steps up.
After one of my walks, as I was entering the Visitor’s Center, a hummingbird was trying to fly through the glass window. I tried to guide him out the door, but he flew into the observation room, hit the glass and knocked himself out. I thought he was dead. I gently scooped him up and took him outside. He flew off. I’m sure he had a headache. These are the windows:
If you are ever in Northern Arizona, be sure to visit Walnut Canyon.
