Flagstaff

With an elevation of almost 7,000 feet, I'm looking forward to some great stargazing here in Flagstaff.

Locals have a Dark Sky Coalition and make a great case to reduce light pollution, not just for astronomers, but for everyone to enjoy a starry night. The Lowell Observatory was originally on my list, but it won't be open the evening of our stay and I don't see much point of visiting it during the day.

Hopefully our Inn will have its own telescope, and if not, binoculars will help make us feel a bit more closer to the heavens.

Nearby, Sunset Crater is the site of lava flow, cinders, and some rugged geology.

Also close is the Wupatki National Monument, where trade items from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico have been discovered. Believed to be inhabited since 500 AD, it was first built by the Ancient Pueblo People. On an 1851 expedition, pottery was still thickly strewn over the ground.