Walnut Canyon

Yesterday Nathan and I drove down to Flagstaff.  As the crow flies it should be about 3 hours to get there, but there's this pesky thing called the Grand Canyon in the way, so it ended up being a 5 1/2 hour drive.  Just one way.   Reason?  Enrolling in a masters program in the UK allowed Nathan to avoid taking the GRE test, but now that we're back in the states applying for a PhD program, the GRE crept back into our lives.  He could have talken it right here in St. George, but they didn't have a testing date until later, and he needed to take it sooner.  Thus: Flagstaff, AZ.  Luckily that 5 hour drive looked like this:

I did some research before we went so I'd have something to do while poor Nathan took his 3 hour test and I came across Walnut Canyon.  It was a beautiful spot off of Route 66 20 miles away from the testing center.  It was a short hike into the canyon to see cave dwellings where Native Americans used to live.  Cool huh?  And only 5 bucks. 

 I was absessed with the tree above.  I took a million pictures... it was just so cool and knobbly.

                              My first snow (and maybe/probably last) of this fall/winter!

 I propped the camera up on a rock and set up the self-timer.  Hiking alone isn't as lame as I thought it would be.  It's pretty zen.  And I'd pass other people every 2 minutes or so.  And  I heard an animal sniffing around.  Hopefuly it wasn't a cougar...  but I guess it was full because it didn't bother me.

 Can you see the dwellings in the cliffside above?  It's identical to the illustration below.

                                                        I'm in a cliff dwelling!!!

I got my kicks.... you know the rest. :)